national surname chiming

Chapter 82 New Year's Resolutions
Shen Shuren spent a few days rectifying the ordnance manufacturing in Huangzhou. With everything on the right track, he calculated that the days were almost over, so he embarked on a journey back to Suzhou for the New Year.

It is not difficult to create samples of bayonets and tomahawks, which are much more convenient than muskets.

Before leaving, Shen Shuren also got dozens of samples. The initial model was a bit flawed, so he quickly iteratively modified it, and after confirming that there was no problem, he finally made a sample and mass-produced it.

During the whole process, Shen Shuren also had to give some advice and emphasis on the issues of standardization and unification of dimensions, weights and measures that some traversers often talked about.

Silver was also allocated to the craftsmen in the workshop, and uniformly equipped with new measuring tools.Make sure that the machined barrel and the hoop bayonet can match, and the problem of barrel eccentricity can be alleviated to the greatest extent.

As for the dozens of axes and bayonets that were trial-produced in the first batch, Shen Shuren didn't intend to waste them, so he directly gave them to his confidant guards.

On the 300th day of the twelfth lunar month, five large sand boats carrying Shen Shuren and more than [-] guard soldiers embarked on the way home from Huangzhou down the river.

Zhang Huangyan personally went to the pier to see them off, and also said a few words, so that when the Shen family's fleet came back in the next year, they would bring more copper and iron materials.

In the next one and a half months, Zhang Huangyan will organize the production of bayonets and poleaxes step by step.However, there are no iron mines in Huangzhou, and the existing iron materials in the government can only maintain full-scale military production for two or three months at most.

In the past, Shen Shuren relied on outsourcing for all equipment, so the problem of buying raw materials was not prominent, but now he made all of them by himself, and the contradiction was immediately exposed.

After Shen Shuren remembered this matter, he didn't have to deal with it all by himself.After the ship set sail, he handed over orders to Shen Shou, who helped him manage the money, and on the return journey, according to the daily business process, it was enough to purchase copper and iron.

If the transportation needs to be escorted, let Shen Shou's younger brother Shen Fu handle it.

However, Shen Shuren also asked in passing: "Our family originally needed to purchase copper and iron, where do we usually purchase them?"

Shen Shou has been running the business for the Shen family for many years, and replied without thinking:

"Back to Master, if you want to use it in Huangzhou, the most convenient way to buy iron materials is in Wuchang Mansion. If you want to use it in Suzhou, it is more convenient and cheaper to transport it by Fujian Railway.

There is Iron Mountain in Daye County, Wuchang Prefecture, which has been mined since the Tang Dynasty. Daye County is on the opposite bank of Qishui County, Huangzhou, and it doesn’t cost a lot of money to transport it here.

As for copper, whether it is Huangzhou in the south or the hometown of Suzhou, all copper materials go to Tongling, Anqing Prefecture, which is an old copper mine that has been mined since the end of Han Dynasty. "

Listening to Shen Shuren, it was also a little bit of geography knowledge in the late Ming Dynasty, reviewing the past to learn the new, knowing which copper and iron mines have been mined now, and which ones have not been discovered.

According to Shen Shou, the Ma'anshan Iron Mine, which is more famous in the south in later generations, does not exist today.

The iron mine in Daye, Hubei has existed for a long time, but when Zhang Zhidong started the "Hanyeping" in later generations, the Anyuan coal mine in Pingxiang, which is matched with the iron mine, must have not been discovered yet.

If the southern region wants to use metallurgical coal, it is estimated that the small coal mines in Changxing, Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, which have been mined since the Song and Ming Dynasties, have a high proportion of bituminous coal and slightly poorer quality, but the traffic around the Taihu Plain is very convenient, and it is easier to transport coal. come out.

If the coal from the Pingxiang Coal Mine is to be used, the difficulty of mining is easy to solve, but the transportation will be very troublesome. In history, Zhang Zhidong built a small railway from Anyuan Mountain to Pingxiang County for the Anyuan Coal Mine.

After the coal is transported to Pingxiang County, the coal can be transported by water along the Xiangjiang River.Subsequent mileage costs after boarding the ship can be ignored.The water of the Xiangjiang River leads to Dongting Lake and the Yangtze River, making it easy to go anywhere.

Shen Shuren did all the calculations, and didn't avoid his confidants, and directly said with emotion: "The amount of iron and copper materials we are going to purchase this year is not too huge, and will not arouse suspicion from the imperial court.

But I am in Huangzhou, and I must continue to expand the army and prepare for war, chase the bandits, and prepare for being transferred by His Majesty to deal with the Tartars in the future. The speed of ordnance construction will definitely increase many times next year.

In the past two years, I still have to pay attention to self-sufficiency, self-sufficiency and low-key self-sufficiency.In order not to buy all the copper and iron in the south of the Yangtze River, the price increase is too eye-catching. "

After the new year is the 14th year of Chongzhen.Historically, until the 15th year of Chongzhen, the emperor still had the appeal to punish the local real power faction, so it is still necessary to keep a low profile and cover up.

It wasn't until around the end of Chongzhen's 15th year that the emperor's overwhelming power over the local area was completely lost.Shen Shuren wanted to develop his acting in a low-key way, and then low-key would be enough.

In the future, no one will trouble you just because you smelted steel and made firecrackers.

When Shen Shou saw that the young master dared to talk to him about such a topic of "deceiving the court", he also felt quite trusted, so he cheered up for a while, thought hard, and helped to make suggestions:

"Young master, since you want to open the iron mine privately, you must pay a lot of money to the local government, and then cover it up and down. The benefits that should be shared with the court must not be less, so as not to give others a handle.

However, the most suitable iron mine around Huangzhou right now is Daye Iron Mountain, but Wuchang Mansion is guarded by Zuo Liangyu.I heard that the master's family letter also mentioned that Zuo Liangyu and our family..."

Speaking of this, he was afraid of inappropriate wording, so he stopped talking for the time being.

Shen Shuren also understood, and raised his hand, indicating that this is not his concern: "I have my own discretion about Zuo Liangyu's affairs, and all you want to think about are the details of the operation and accounts. It doesn't matter whether these Tieshan can get your hands or not." Let’s assume that you can get it first, and think carefully about the work that should be prepared.”

……

In the past few days on the ship, Shen Shuren was idle, so he chatted with his subordinates about the future military supply chain.

It is always easy to think about many problems when one is quiet, that is, in the past few days, Shen Shuren also has a new view on how to deal with Zuo Liangyu in the future.

To be honest, according to Shen Shuren's established rhythm, he planned to stabilize Zuo Liangyu first.You have to eat every bite, first kill Gezuo Fifth Battalion completely, and then deal with Zhang Xianzhong, after Zhang Xianzhong is disabled, it will not be too late to deal with Zuo Liangyu slowly.

According to the preliminary timetable of Chongzhen's dealing with Gezuo Wuying in 14 years and Chongzhen's dealing with Zhang Xianzhong in 15 years, dealing with Zuo Liangyu has been a matter of Chongzhen's 16 years at least.Only in this way can we avoid "fighting on two fronts" at the same time.

Cleaning up is definitely necessary, and there is no doubt about the general direction.

Historically, Zuo Liangyu played the banner of "Qing Emperor's side" in Nanming, which was actually a rebellion, and directly led to the fact that at least two of the four towns in Nanming were restrained, unable to deal with Duoduo's southward movement.

Therefore, Zuo Liangyu must bear considerable responsibility for Shi Kefa's defeat in Yangzhou and finally the fall of Nanjing.

Of course, some people may think that Zuo Liangyu's situation should be better than that of Zheng Zhilong, at least Zuo Liangyu himself died of illness on the way to the army, and he himself did not have time to be surrendered as a traitor.

But after his son Zuo Menggeng inherited his military inheritance, he led the troops to surrender without hesitation. Zuo Liangyu was not too wronged if the debt was settled on Zuo Liangyu's head.

For an existence that would become a family of traitors in the future in history, if Shen Shuren wants to deal with him, of course there will be no moral pressure, this is doing justice for the sky.

But now, first of all, Shen Shuren realized that Zuo Liangyu was near Wuchang, and after the relationship between the two parties had been torn apart, if he made any major demolition and construction actions in Huangzhou, Zuo Liangyu would easily target him.If he wants to win Daye's iron mine and start construction nearby, he will also be hindered by Zuo Liangyu.

In his father's family letter, the hostile measures taken against Zuo Liangyu were also clearly stated.

That being the case, it is better to advance it a little bit, and try to compress it until the 14th year of Chongzhen to deal with Zhang Xianzhong, and to make a game in the 15th year of Chongzhen, so that Zuo Liangyu could restrain himself out of personal hatred when dealing with Zhang Xianzhong.

Historically, in the 15th year of Chongzhen, Sun Chuanting could still let Sun Chuanting kill the domineering general He Renlong, and Zuo Liangyu was completely arrogant and domineering in history, after the 16th year of Chongzhen and the complete powerlessness of the court.

If I can irritate Zuo Liangyu in advance, make Zuo Liangyu feel flustered, not calm, restrain the friendly army in advance, and destroy the overall situation of the thief suppression, then is it possible for Zuo Liangyu to enjoy the fate of He Renlong in history?
The biggest benefit of doing this is that it can prevent internal conflicts in the Ming army—according to Shen Shuren's original plan, when he wants to deal with and annex Zuo Liangyu in the future, a war will definitely be unavoidable. The consumption of force is too uneconomical.

It would be great if Chongzhen could use Chongzhen's last court righteousness to only deal with the chief villain and recruit Zuo Liangyu's army, and everyone would be happy.

However, the flaws and risks of this plan are also obvious-Shen Shuren had to take risks and bear a certain risk of "making enemies on two fronts".

Avoiding two-front combat is itself common sense for military strategists.In the future, before finishing the final blow to Zhang Xianzhong, to tear face with Zuo Liangyu, it is equivalent to having to face the madness of Zhang Xianzhong and Zuo Liangyu at the same time for a few months!

Will my own strength be able to withstand it?
After thinking about it, Shen Shuren felt that for the sake of extra income, this risk was worth taking.

The point is that even if he doesn't provoke Zuo Liangyu, Zuo Liangyu's hatred value is not easy to control.Instead of leaving a remote-controlled bomb with an unknown hatred value, it would be better to become a time bomb with the length of the fuse shortened by itself.

"After the Chinese New Year, when I go to Nanjing to go through the formalities, I have to inquire about Zuo Liangyu's relatives and friends in Nanjing, and grab some black information in my hand." Shen Shuren thought to himself, and silently made a plan.

The ten-day cruise on the Yangtze River came to an end soon. On the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, Shen Shuren's fleet successfully arrived at Liujia Port in Taicang, Suzhou.

From the end of the Lantern Festival at the beginning of the year, when he went north to the capital to catch the exam, to his return to his hometown at the end of the twelfth lunar month, he felt that he was a bit of a worker in Beijing.

It's just that he has better grades in this North Drift.After drifting for eleven months and ten days, he was promoted from an eighth-rank official to a seventh-rank, sixth-rank, and fifth-rank official. He made two meritorious service in one imperial examination, which can be called a rocket ride.

(End of this chapter)