Chongzhen Daming: Starting from Coal Mountain

Chapter 378 The heroine
"Your Majesty, don't worry about that." Wu Jinxi breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the words, and then patted his chest and said, "From next year onwards, if you can't produce [-] million catties of iron every year, feel free to ask me to blame you."

While speaking, a group of people have come to a square pond.

I saw more than a dozen bare-chested and bare-backed laborers holding willows and frying iron materials profusely in sweat.

I saw that every time they stir fry, the willow wood in the hands of the laborers will be burned two or three inches, and if it is short, it will be replaced.

Wu Jinxi went on to say: "Look, my lord, this is the method of frying iron recorded in Tiangong Kaiwu. The iron that has just been smelted from the iron furnace is pig iron. It is hard and brittle. It cannot be filed or drilled. After being fried with willow wood, it becomes wrought iron, which is much softer than pig iron but tougher and not easy to break, and can be used for forging various iron utensils, such as iron pans."

Chongzhen nodded and said again: "This is fried iron, but what about the fried steel you mentioned earlier?"

"Fried iron is fried steel." Wu Jinxi pointed to the large iron ingots that have been divided into squares after being stir-fried and have not been completely cooled. Half-cooked is steel, but these craftsmen are still far behind, and they need time to temper slowly."

This method may seem rough, but it makes perfect sense in principle.

Depending on the degree of stir-frying, high-carbon steel, low-carbon steel or wrought iron can be obtained.

Chongzhen glanced at the laborers who were frying iron, and saw that they were not very active.

This is also understandable. The status of these slaves is not as good as that of the lowest-level artisan households. At least artisan households still enjoy the right to marry and build houses alone. However, these laborers will be locked up in collective dormitories after work, let alone marriage Even basic personal freedoms were taken away.

Motivation is impossible in this situation.

Anyway, it is a day to work hard, and it is also a day to be idle.

Immediately Chongzhen frowned and said: "Wu Qing, you tell these laborers that if they perform well, for example, they have mastered the heat of frying steel very well, and the fried steel is hard and tough, they can be exempted from the status of labor labor, and they will be transferred from now on. As an official craftsman in Hanyang Iron Smelting Factory, not only will he regain his personal freedom, but he will also be paid wages!"

This is equivalent to becoming the first batch of formal workers in the Hanyang Iron Smelting Works.

"Receive the decree." Wu Jinxi immediately walked up to the laborers and announced Chongzhen's intention loudly.

Immediately afterwards, the laborers who were working knelt down in the direction of Chongzhen, shouting long live.

……

After returning from the iron smelting workshop in Hanyang, Chongzhen officially issued an edict ordering the big and small chieftains in the west of Hunan, Hubei, and eastern Sichuan to rush to Wuchang to listen to the tune before the first day of June.

Less than a month after the edict was issued, in early May, the first chieftain arrived in Wuchang.

To Chongzhen's surprise, the first person who rushed to Wuchang under the imperial edict was not the nearest chieftain of Western Hubei, but the Shijie Xuanfusi of eastern Sichuan, the loyal Marquis Qin Liangyu.

Hearing that Qin Liangyu had led white-armed soldiers to Wuchang, Chongzhen rushed out to meet him.

Qin Liangyu and the white pole soldiers of Shi Jie Xuanfu Division traveled down the Yangtze River on bamboo rafts, which is why they came so quickly. Otherwise, if they went by land, they would have to go for at least two months.

When Chongzhen arrived, Qin Liangyu was gathering troops by the pier.

Looking from a distance, the white soldiers are still the same white soldiers, and the formation is neat and strict.

But when he got closer, Chongzhen had a sore nose and almost cried, because the equipment on the white soldiers could no longer be simply described in two words, they were simply a group of beggars.

There is no iron armor, cotton armor, or even a battle jacket.

Every white soldier wears tattered sackcloth or kudzu clothes.

Both feet are bare, not even a pair of straw sandals.

The only thing that looked decent was the white spear in his hand.

This kind of army can't help but remind Chongzhen of another army from Chuchuan three hundred years later. It can be seen that inheritance is real, and some things are really engraved in the bones.

Qin Liangyu also saw Chongzhen, and hurriedly led his nephews and grandsons to meet him.

Arriving near, Qin Liangyu paid homage to the ground: "The minister Shi Jie is acting as the Xuanfu envoy, and the governor is serving as the governor and the commander-in-chief Qin Liangyu. He led all his nephews and grandchildren to kowtow to the sage Jin'an."

"The ministers respectfully invite the Holy One Jin'an."

Qin Yiming, Qin Gongming and others also knelt down and paid respects.

"Old General Qin please get up quickly." Chongzhen rushed forward and helped Qin Liangyu up from the ground with his own hands.

After helping Qin Liangyu up, Chongzhen beckoned Zhu Cijiong to come forward, then pointed to Qin Liangyu and said, "Jionger, meet old General Qin soon, this is my Great Ming Optimus Prime, you need to learn a lot from her."

Immediately, Zhu Cijiong bowed to the ground to pay respects and said, "Zhu Cijiong, who came after the end of school, will see the old general Qin."

"Your Highness King Ding can't do it!" Qin Liangyu hastily stepped forward to help Zhu Cijiong up, "This is really a shameful old minister."

However, Zhu Cijiong persisted in worshiping, and after bowing to Qin Liangyu, he got up and retreated behind Chongzhen.

Wang Chengen, Gao Qiqian, Hu Guozhu and others who followed Chongzhen to meet him couldn't help but look sideways, thinking that the emperor's courtesy to Qin Liangyu was truly unprecedented.

In the past, when the courtiers paid homage, the Holy Majesty always just signaled the courtiers to stand up with a solemn hand.

There were only a few people who came forward to support him personally, and Qin Liangyu was the only one who asked King Ding to pay respects. This shows how much the Holy Majesty attaches importance to Qin Liangyu.

Of course Chongzhen attached great importance to Qin Liangyu, how could he not?

No matter which emperor it is, it is impossible not to pay attention to courtiers like Qin Liangyu.

Qin Liangyu really devoted himself to Daming, and he can be regarded as a model of loyal ministers in ancient and modern times.

What's more, Qin Liangyu is not just a loyal minister, she and her husband Ma Qiancheng personally built the stone white pole soldiers, which can be regarded as rare elite soldiers in the Ming Dynasty.

The battle of Hunhe made Jiannu terrified!
It's a pity that the hero is already late.

Seeing Qin Liangyu's white hair, Chongzhen couldn't help but sigh.

Qin Liangyu seemed to see Chongzhen's sorrow, and said: "My lord, Huang Han, the old general of the Shu Han Dynasty, was able to open a two-stone hard bow at the age of seventy. , and I, Shi Jie, three thousand athletes, will fight against the rebellion on behalf of the Holy Majesty and Daming."

"Okay, okay, okay." Chongzhen's voice was a little choked up.

Chongzhen was really moved and didn't know what to say.

Qin Liangyu suddenly said with some shame: "Your Majesty, the old minister originally wanted to gather [-] white soldiers to come to Wuchang, but it's a pity that most of the few young and strong men left in the clan have been taken away by Chief Yang, so the old minister only We have raised less than [-] Ding, and I hope that the Holy Majesty will not blame the old minister for his incompetence, as the Shi Jie Xuanfu Department only has these [-] white rods left."

Speaking of this, Qin Liangyu's voice also became choked up, because there were really very few strong men left in the Xuanfu Division of Shijie, but there were tens of thousands of widows left behind, and she dared not look directly at those widows.

"No, I don't blame." Chongzhen waved his hands again and again, "How could I blame you?"

Loyal minister, Shi Jie Xuan Fusi really shed the last drop of blood for the Ming Dynasty.

After a pause, Chongzhen turned back and told Wang Chengen: "Wang Daban, immediately transfer three thousand sets of armor from the treasury, three thousand sets of mandarin ducks and jackets, three thousand shi of military rations, and nine thousand taels of salary to the old general Qin."

Chongzhen never directly handed over military rations and salaries to the leading generals, Qin Liangyu can be said to be the only exception.

After thinking for a while, Chongzhen ordered again: "From the treasury, another hundred pieces of silk, three thousand pieces of cotton cloth, five thousand taels of grained silver, and five hundred taels of gold will be transferred from the treasury. These are for Old General Qin."

This reward is not ordinary rich.

"The old slave leads the order." Wang Chengen turned and left in a hurry.

Qin Liangyu couldn't help but shed tears of gratitude when he heard the words, and bowed down again: "The old minister bows down to thank the Lord Long En."

But he thought to himself, it seems that the rumors that the Holy One went to Meishan to realize Taoism are true. Although the Holy One used to value white soldiers, he was never so generous. It was sent to her, so in the past, the rations and salaries received by their white soldiers were pitifully small.

Even sometimes, Shi Jie Xuan Fusi had to pour money into it.

Shi Jie Xuan Fusi has been fighting for the Ming Dynasty all these years, and she is really poor. Otherwise, this time, she will give up her old face and go to other chieftains to recruit another two thousand soldiers to get together five thousand.

It's a pity that their Ma family can't afford that much money anymore.

After some rewards, the emotions of Chongzhen and Qin Liangyu gradually calmed down.

Chongzhen asked again: "Old General Qin, just now you said that Yang Zhan transferred troops from the Shijie Xuanfu Division?"

"Report to Your Majesty, there is indeed such a thing." Qin Liangyu replied, "Mr. Yang transferred at least [-] white-armed soldiers from our Shijie Xuanfu Division, and they are currently fighting fiercely with Zhang's rebel army in the area of ​​Meizhou."

"How's the battle going?" Chongzhen asked again, "Have you gained anything?"

Qin Liangyu said: "At the end of last year and the beginning of this year, Mr. Yang won several battles in a row. He defeated Zhang Ni's general Zhang Yixun and his adopted son Zhang Wenxiu. The main force of the army is more than [-] people, and more than [-] boats have been recruited to prepare to go down the Qingshen River to Meizhou and fight Yang Zongzhen."

Chongzhen said thoughtfully: "In this way, when I summoned the chieftain of Eastern Sichuan to Wuchang at this time, didn't I draw my salary from the bottom of the pot, but secretly helped the traitor Zhang Xianzhong?"

"That's not true." Qin Liangyu shook his head and said, "Even the governor of Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan, Wang Butang, can't move the chieftain of Eastern Sichuan, and it's even more impossible to transfer the chieftain of Yang Zongzhen, so the emperor summoned the chieftain of Eastern Sichuan to come to Wuchang to order, It won't affect the outcome of the battle of Meizhou, but the old minister is a little worried that even the Holy Lord won't be able to mobilize the chieftain soldiers in eastern Sichuan."

Chongzhen said in his heart that it is right that the chieftain soldiers in eastern Sichuan cannot be transferred, but it is strange that they can be transferred.

In fact, apart from the Xiangxi chieftains, Guangxi chieftains were the most obedient in the Ming Dynasty, and the eastern Sichuan chieftains had a lot of black history of rebellion, such as Bozhou Xuanweisi and Shijie Xuanfusi are only special cases.

To be honest, it was intentional for Chongzhen to order the chieftain soldiers to count the chieftains in eastern Sichuan this time.

Because the chieftain of Eastern Sichuan did not obey the edict this time, when Shadingzhou was cleaned up, he could use this as an excuse to go north to Eastern Sichuan.

Of course, if he really goes north to eastern Sichuan, cleaning up the chieftain is just an excuse, and the ultimate intention must be to clean up Zhang Xianzhong.

"It's okay, I didn't expect other chieftains from Eastern Sichuan to come." Chongzhen waved his hand and said, "Old General Qin, it is enough for me that you can come here under the order."

While the monarch and his subjects were talking, they suddenly heard a crisp slogan coming from a distance.

"One or two, all our ears are for trumpets and drums, three and four, all our eyes are for commanding flags!"

"One or two, if the drum is beating, you should enter, and the mountains of swords and fires will also enter. Three or four, if the rallying call sounds, the golden mountains and silver mountains will also retreat."

Hearing this, Qin Liangyu couldn't help being stunned for a moment, and asked Chongzhen in amazement: "My lord, this password seems to be shouted by a woman? When did my Ming Dynasty have a Detachment Army?"

"Oh, there is an army of women." Chongzhen said hurriedly.

"The chief general of the Detachment of Women still admires you, the old general, how about meeting him?"

Li Xiangjun has admired Qin Liangyu for a long time, and has long been looking forward to meeting his idol.

"It's quite new. Daming actually had a Detachment of Women." Qin Liangyu regained his energy immediately, and said, "Your Majesty, where is the Detachment of Women, the old minister is eager to see."

"The barracks of the Detachment of Women is just ahead at the western foot of Snake Mountain."

Chongzhen paused after saying this, and then said: "I will take Old General Qin to the barracks of the Detachment of Women."

Qin Liangyu quickly said: "This is really frustrating for the old minister. The Holy One can send a servant to lead the old minister. The old minister must not dare to work for the holy driver to lead the way in person. This is really not allowed."

"It doesn't matter." Chongzhen waved his hands and smiled, "I have also seen a lot of performances by the Detachment of Women. Today is a rare opportunity, so I will go with Old General Qin."

Qin Liangyu didn't say anything more.

The group of people now headed straight for the women's barracks at the northern foot of Snake Mountain.

When they arrived at the training ground of the female barracks, they saw that the female soldiers had finished their queue training and were practicing firing guns.

Qin Liangyu looked up, and saw a tall young female general with her back turned to this side, orderly directing a group of female soldiers to practice firing muskets.

The female general turned her back to this side, and did not see Chongzhen and his party.

Those female soldiers did see Chongzhen, but they were so focused on training that no one paid attention to them.

Because the military rules and regulations in the new book of performance are written very clearly, all their eyes can only see the flags and lights, and all their ears can only listen to the trumpets and drums.

Failure to do so will result in severe punishment.

It's just that the female soldiers didn't actually release them, they just made moves.

In fact, this is the main training subject for the new army. For example, Xu's children in Laodong used to practice matchlock guns every day when they were in Laodong's hometown, and later changed to flintlock.

The women's barracks are now also training flintlocks instead of matchlocks.

"It's all there, pretend to be flint!" the female general scolded coquettishly.

Hundreds of female soldiers lined up took out flints from their leather pouches and loaded them on the trigger.

"Reload!" The female general yelled again, and the female soldiers quickly took out a paper shell from the bullet pouch slung over their left shoulders, put it in their mouths for a while, and then loaded it into the medicine room. And pour gunpowder into the muzzle, then put the paper shell bullets back into the bullet bag, and finally use the cleaning rod to stab the gun chamber.

"Let go!" The female general gave another order.

The female soldiers raised their flintlock guns and pulled the triggers.

(End of this chapter)