Picturesque Rivers and Mountains in the Red Chamber

248 Chapter 4.44 Sufficient Strength Can Be Respected
Volume Four

4.44 Sufficient Strength Can Gain Respect
Zhou Yang did not expect that Xue Xun was more interested in his appointment than himself. In the early morning of the 25th, before he could finish his essential daily exercise, he saw Tong Fu hurriedly entering the guest room. He went to the courtyard garden and reported to him, "The second master is here."

"I've met my second uncle!" No matter what he was thinking, Zhou Yang simply washed up and changed some clothes, then hurried to the main hall of Dean Zheng and found that Xue Xun was already sitting at the top of the guest seat, with Xue Biao standing behind him. , the first person sitting on the main seat was Wang Shuying, there was no one else in the huge living room, "I wonder what my second uncle is today."

"Okay!" Xue Xun waved his hand with a smile on his face, obviously not interested in going through any more "procedures". When he saw Zhou Yang entering the door, he stood up and walked to him, patted his shoulder and said, "You are not bad, very good, you are right." When I had the best idea at the time, I didn't dare to think of a fifth-grade real person like this.

I have already prepared the things you decided on last time. I will send them to Daye with you when the time comes. I will never miss your business. I don’t know much about the rules in the army, but I know the rules in the yamen. You still know a lot of ways, but if you don’t have enough money, just ask your family, don’t be polite! "

"My younger brother has met Brother Zhou!" It took a long time, but it still hasn’t stopped when it comes.”

"Well, sister Qin, it's okay, right?" He didn't quite understand why Xue Baoqin mentioned Xue Baoqin in front of his foreign husband, but he still greeted her politely, "Unfortunately, I can't go see her for the time being."

"What's there to worry about? That girl is very strong, what's the big deal?" Xue Xun laughed and patted him a few more times, "Come on, come on, this time I came here, but I brought everything you asked for. Sample, let’s go now.”

"Second uncle!" Wang Shuying interrupted him angrily, "You guys came here early in the morning, so you haven't even had breakfast yet? I've just had people prepare food, so I can't let the guests go hungry!"

"Uh hahaha!" Xue Xun also realized that he was too impatient. He laughed a few times and followed Wang Shuying's call to take his seat. Soon, servants filed in, carrying various breakfast dishes and starting to serve. Talk while eating.

"Brother Zhou, the island has made many improvements according to your original suggestions. For example, the most important iron stove is now completely stable." Even while eating breakfast, Xue Biao still couldn't calm down. "We compared the best hemp iron sold on the market, and ours was even stronger."

"Oh?" Zhou Yang was stunned for a moment, "Didn't you say last time that it was done?"

"I didn't make it clear." Not to mention the expansion, so the last time you went to the island, despite the bustle there, there were only two working iron stoves.

Now I will ask someone to find a usable iron stove based on the... um, standard you mentioned, compare and measure repeatedly, figure out every... um, detail, and then try to build a new one. Once it is completed, I will write it down. If it doesn't work, try again, and finally figure out how to build this iron stove. "

"My father rewarded the dozen or so master craftsmen and their families with 500 taels, and asked them to use all their abilities, and finally they finally got it done." Xue Biao's expression was very excited, "I now understand why Brother Zhou was so We value these craftsmen, and now as long as we are willing, we can build 1 such iron stoves.

As long as we find some young apprentices with flexible minds, they can start working in less than three months. Although they don't understand the details, they have no problem working. Now, as long as you are willing on the island, how much does the best wrought iron cost? How many, many of the suggestions that Brother Zhou gave at the beginning can be used now! "

"The clipper ship you were talking about was what you called a 'clipper ship'. It couldn't be built originally." It won't last long when it comes out; with enough wrought iron workpieces to strengthen it, such as adding wrought iron reinforcements to the original simple mortise and tenon structure, there will be no problem.

There is also the production of firearms. In the past, there was not enough iron material, and the best iron products on the market were rare and expensive. Nowadays, as long as you are willing, you can make as many matchlock guns and tiger squat cannons as you want. If you are not worried about being exposed, I can equip every one of my men with the best cloth armor, hahaha! "

"So what if the cloth armor can withstand firearms?" Zhou Yang said with a smile.

"Huh?" ? Yes, no matter what kind of armor it is, it will never be able to withstand a matchlock gun at a distance of thirty steps. If it is replaced with a large tiger squatting gun, it will be difficult to say at a hundred steps!"

"Second uncle, times have changed. Many of the old things we used to uphold are no longer useful today." Zhou Yang said with a smile, "The battlefield in the future will definitely be dominated by firearms, because no matter how brave the soldiers and generals are, they can't use them anymore." It cannot withstand a mere grain of iron sand, and no matter how strong the city defenses are, it cannot withstand the endless bombardment of artillery!" "Brother Zhou, when we come here this time, we have brought samples except for the cannon. I will ask someone to bring them here." Xue Biao finished speaking excitedly and waved his hand to call someone.

"Eat!" Wang Shuying couldn't say anything about Xue Xun. It's okay to catch Xue Xun and give him a lesson. Seeing that something was going to happen, she quickly seized the opportunity to interrupt the singing, "Eat the food first and then talk about your affairs, the sky is falling." Don’t be hungry when you come down!”

"Eh ha ha ha!" *3.

Since they had something on their minds, the meal was no longer interesting. The three of them devoured their food and quickly solved their stomach problems. Then they got up and left, heading straight to the guest room and garden - both the Xue family and his son knew that Zhou Yang lived there. Originally, I wanted to show it directly, so I sent the sample.

"This gun." After a moment, Zhou Yang repeatedly looked at the matchlock sample in his hand and said in surprise, "It is half a foot shorter than the original, and the total length is a little more than five feet. The barrel is thicker again. Quite a few, so the weight is about the same, eight and a half pounds; the most obvious appearance is the improvement in workmanship, the whole gun looks like it has been polished, and the black paint is much more beautiful than before."

"This is because I listened to your suggestion. I asked people to try it repeatedly. In the end, I found that the barrel is too long and it is meaningless. Anyway, it can kill unarmored soldiers in a hundred steps and penetrate ordinary armor in fifty steps. Shorten the barrel. On the contrary, it is easier to make." Xue Xun said proudly, "The thickening is to increase the power and speed up the loading. It is really good to use."

"Not bad!" Zhou Yang nodded with satisfaction, "And the Yan Ling Dao and Zhang Er Long Spear also look quite exquisite. It's a pity that you have improved the craftsmanship of the infantry cannons I have seen before, right? I don’t know exactly how!”

"Haha!" The Xue family father and son looked at each other and couldn't help laughing.

"Brother Zhou, let alone the large squatting tiger cannon. Well, it is the infantry cannon you mentioned. The construction of this barrel has been improved several times. Although it is made of an iron rod and drilled out of the chamber, we We found a dozen red-haired master craftsmen from Haojing, and the cast iron rods are extremely fine, even the surface is as smooth as polished; we also used black iron drill bits to drill the bores, which is fast and good."

"Yes, two Baihu matchlocks, two Baihu spearmen, one Baihu infantry cannon, and one Baihu cavalry, that's six Baihu, worthy of the imperial court's salary." Zhou Yang nodded with satisfaction. He nodded and said, "Unfortunately, we don't have enough war horses now, nor do we have people who understand cavalry. We can only wait and see."

"Nephew Zhou Xian, when you wanted to supply the Ningguo Mansion a few days ago, didn't you say that you had contacted the Dongping and Beijing palaces?" Xue Xun said worriedly, "Didn't they promise to provide war horses? Have you contacted me since then?"

"Wait a minute!" Zhou Yang smiled bitterly and shook his head, "I had just been appointed, and it was just a verbal agreement. Let's wait until I officially take office and the infantry is almost trained. Anyway, it will only take three or four months. Let's wait. I can afford it; when that time comes, I will ask them for conditions, and I think it will be easier to talk to them."

"That's right!" Now, after so many years of dealing with countless people, it has only been in the past two years that I have truly established a relationship with these rich and noble people."

"What's that old saying? You have to be tough to make iron!" Zhou Yang said with a smile, "You must ensure that you have enough strength to gain respect. No matter how much money you had in the past, it didn't matter in the eyes of those noble people. How much better than the slaves at home; now that we have irreplaceable salt goods and a shipping fleet, they can’t live without us, so they will naturally speak politely!”

In fact, there is something Zhou Yang didn't say that goes too far. If they rely solely on business and making money, the most that those military officers and senior officials can do is "give some face and speak politely." Only those who truly have the ability to talk on an equal footing can It is possible to make them respect him, and if he can be crushed one day, it will be no problem to make them kneel down!
"That's right!" Naturally, I can’t move—huh? What are these slimy things?”

"Um" Zhou Yang watched awkwardly as Xue Xun carefully picked up the gel on the stone table, then brought it closer to his eyes to observe carefully, "Who must have accidentally spilled something."

"Really?" Xue Xun didn't ask again and returned to the topic.

At the gate of the garden, Wang Shuying, who was about to come in with Tongfu carrying a tea tray, instantly blushed, covered her face and left with the girl.

(End of this chapter)