A small soldier of the frontier army in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 166 Building firearms, water power and animal power?

On March 25, the tenth year of Chongzhen, Wang Dou watched the residence newspaper. Yang Sichang had arrived in the capital and officially took up the post of Minister of the Ministry of War.

In history, Yang Sichang was a ruthless character with considerable military talent. The strategy he put forward was four positive and six corners, and the ten provinces of the Ming Dynasty cooperated in the suppression and defense, which was rigorous and effective.After the plan was implemented, Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and others failed one after another. If the Qing soldiers did not enter the bandits, it is very likely that Li Zicheng and the others would be finished.

At the same time, Wang Dou also felt strange, how could the Qing soldiers and the peasant army cooperate so well?Whenever the peasant army was about to fail, the Qing army immediately entered the pass to plunder, and let those peasant army escape from death.

For the time being, this is not what Wang Dou is concerned about. What he is concerned about is that if Yang Sichang wants to implement his plan of four positives and six corners, according to history, implementing this plan requires an additional 12 troops and an additional salary of 280 million taels. aggregated.

With this worry in mind, on March 25th, Wang Dou came to Shun Township Fort.

Accompanying them were Zhang Gui, the prefectural urban management officer, and Tian Changguo, the battalion officer, and the soldiers and civilians of Shunxiangbao warmly welcomed Lord Integrity Wang.

Wang Dou looked at the newly built military households' homes on the northwest side of Shunxiang Fort. Like the original Shunxiang New Fort, here are also neat rows of military household barracks. The streets and alleys are paved with rocks and there are drainage ditches. .Outside the home, only a small two-meter-high wall was built to connect with the old and new second fort walls in Shun Township, saving the largest cost of building the fort.

The current Shunxiang Fort is nearly three times larger than when Wang Dou first arrived at Shunxiang Fort, with a population of more than 1. Looking at the castle in front of them, both Zhang Gui and Tian Changguo were amazed. The current Shunxiang Fort, Compared with before, it can be said that earth-shaking changes have taken place.

However, Zhang Gui and Zhang Gui expressed concern about the two sides of Shunxiang Fort's northwest that were not built high and thick. Wang Dou sighed: "No matter how thick the fort wall is, it will be useless if the soldiers dare not fight in the field."

Zhang Gui and Zhang Gui were obsequious, and Wang Dou also asked Lin Daofu about the internal affairs of Shunxiang Fort. Except for the old soldiers in the new and old second forts in Shun Township, the more than 5000 new military households living on the two sides of the northwest, because most of them were from civilian households, There were not many officers in charge of the original hundred households, general banners, etc. Lin Daofu followed Wang Dou's order and implemented the Baojia system for these people.

The grouping is based on households, with household heads, ten households as Jia, Jia chiefs, ten Jia as security, and security chiefs, all of whom are famous people from the original households. This is impossible.After the Baojia was set up, the joint guarantee was used to sit together. One family colludes with the thieves, and nine families report it. If they do not report, ten families will be convicted together.This can effectively remove all kinds of spies hidden in the crowd.

At the same time, Wang Dou is also planning to implement the house number system to better govern the military and civilians within the administration.Of course, when the Baojia system is implemented in the future, due to the different population conditions in various places, the Baojia system will be slightly flexible. The principle of establishment is ten households, and one Jia must not be less than six households and more than fifteen households.Yibao also takes ten armors as the principle, no less than six armors and no more than fifteen armors.

Nowadays, the Ming Dynasty generally sets up the Baojia system in various places, but the organization is not as strict as Wang Dou.The Jia system in Daming has been destroyed and cannot be used. Wang Dou hopes that the Baojia system can effectively govern the grassroots.

To put it bluntly, the Baojia System is similar to the Military Household System, and Baochang is basically the position of hundreds of households. Although these civilian households have joined the military households, it is just that Wang Dou has not sued him, so he cannot be awarded to these Baochang, Jiachang It is inconvenient for him to appoint these people as small banners, general banners, and hundreds of households in private, just as Daming implemented the Baojia system in various places, so he used them.It is best to implement the military establishment of military households for these people in the future, which is simpler and more unified.

……

Then Wang Dou went to visit the newly established factories in Shunxiangbao, especially the woodware factory, which Wang Dou focused on at this stage.

Since the beginning of the year, Shunxiangbao initially established workshops such as gunsmith factory, gunpowder factory, clothing factory, iron factory, and woodware factory.These factories were all built on the outskirts of Shunxiangbao, located in the northwest and southwest directions of Shunxiangbao.

These workshops used to be located inside the fort, but now they have all been relocated outside the fort. The new factory buildings are quite messy, and many workshops are just a rough prototype, and some craftsmen are busy working on tidying up.According to the preliminary division, the gunpowder factory, coal factory, iron factory, and clothing factory are all under the branch of the Gunsmith Factory, and Li Maosen is in charge of it.The lumber mill and stone factory belonged to the carpentry factory, which was managed by Wu Liangheng, the eldest son of the old craftsman Wu Shihuan.As for workshops such as brick kilns and lime kilns, there are no shadows yet.

In terms of enthusiasm for work, these craftsmen are far from what they used to be. However, Lin Daofu complained to Wang Dou, saying that the newly established factories are short of manpower, lack of labor, and the division of labor between craftsmen is not easy.These problems are difficult to solve.

Especially craftsmen, Shun Xiangbao is quite insufficient.There were originally more than 180 craftsmen in Shunxiangbao, some of whom made military weapons and some made civilian weapons.In addition, there are more than 100 ordinary workers who assemble weapons and armor, and make paper tube ammunition separately.

At the Koujiagou Iron Works in Huiyaobao, there are more than 300 technicians and miners, and some stout women are transporting coal and iron.Finally, there is Li Zhifen, the nitrate official of Li Daji in Shun Township Fort, who directs more than 50 men and women to pick urine and manure every day, irrigate the nitrate collection land, and then make the nitrate into gunpowder.

After the new factories were established, in terms of division of labor, Li Zhifen, needless to say, brought more than 50 male and female workers of her own into the gunpowder factory.There are also 50 ordinary workers who make paper tube ammunition and enter the gunpowder factory.

There is also the iron factory, a dozen technicians and three hundred Huiyaobao miners have become workers in the iron factory, and all kinds of smelting and casting equipment have been moved to Shunxiangbao. Send people to repair the road from Shunxiang Fort to Huiyao Fort. In the future, you only need to use ox carts to transport iron ore. The monthly smelting demand of Fort Ironworks.

Originally these [-] miners could meet the needs of the iron factory, but these miners were also used as the main force when building roads. Unexpectedly, when silver mines were opened in Xiangguang and other places, Wu Shihuan took away [-] miners and more than half of the technicians from the iron factory. As a result, the manpower in the iron factory was insufficient, and the road being repaired was also delayed.Wu Shihuan also shouted that there was a shortage of technicians and that a large number of additional manpower was needed.

There is also the division of labor among the craftsmen. Some people think of gunsmiths, and some think of carpentry factories. These two departments are in great need of craftsmen.During these times, Li Maosen and Wu Liangheng are trying their best to attract craftsmen to their factory, especially those skilled craftsmen.

There are only more than 180 craftsmen in Shunxiangbao, most of them are apprentices who have not been in the arts for a few years. Even if more than 100 military craftsmen are transferred from Baoanzhou, there are only more than 160 men, and less than a hundred skilled craftsmen. After people came, iron factories, gunsmiths, silver mines, and woodware factories all robbed craftsmen of their hands.

The woodware factory needs to build waterwheels, and there are only more than 140 craftsmen. They want to complete the huge task requirements before autumn sowing, ah.

Hearing what Lin Daofu said, Wang Dou also had a headache. Now that the military and civilians in Bao'an are dividing the land, the Chinese people's desire for acres of land, they have fields to cultivate at home, they are not willing to be craftsmen, and they need Skilled craftsmen can make firecrackers made of waterwheels when they enter the factory.Where can the skilled craftsmen be found?

Fortunately, the lumber mills and stone factories, as well as the coal and iron factories, need miners with low technical content and are generally young and strong. At the beginning of the year, refugees continued to enter the territory of Baoan, and I set up a porridge factory to help them. It's time for these people to work for relief.Wait for these people to work for a few years to stabilize, and then consider dividing the fields and land for them.

There are also soldiers and civilians in the various forts in Baoan Prefecture. They enjoy the benefits of dividing the fields, cattle and water trucks. It is time to organize them to work, contribute wood, build irrigation wells, log and quarry. Now is the opportunity for slack farming, of course. , Wang Dou will give them enough to eat.

As for the quilt factory, which makes the army's tents and uniforms, assembles the soldiers' weapons and armor, etc., since a lot of raw materials such as cloth and cotton have not been purchased, the quilt factory is still under planning. Work is.

……

Next, Wang Dou came to the gun factory, where Li Maosen was still in charge.

In the seventh year of Chongzhen, when Li Maosen first arrived at Jingbian Fort, Wang Dou asked him if he could make flintlocks. Although Li Maosen was an outstanding technician in the security guard at that time, he did not have this skill, but he has been thinking about what Wang Dou said. , but many key points are difficult to figure out.

What Wang Dou worried about most was that the matchlock would go out in wind and rain, or the gunpowder in the fire door would be blown away by the wind, and his matchlock gun would become a fire stick in winter.So he asked Li Maosen hopefully, even if his technical ability is not enough to make flintlocks, the fire door device on the gunpowder pool that can be opened and closed automatically needs to be developed to ensure that his own firearms can fight in winter.

After Wang Dou arrived, the first question he asked was this. Li Maosen stood respectfully. He thought for a long time, and finally sighed: "Ashamed, there are still many unknowns about the flintlock that my lord said."

Speaking of it, the flintlock is also simple, just replace the match with flint, and the main firing mechanism is the trigger, the hammer, a piece of steel with good elasticity, the movement, the sear, and the anvil.At the same time, there is a movable fire door device, which is used to protect the ignition and shade from wind and rain.

However, it is easier said than done, a few parts in this area will stump a large number of people, the skills of the craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty are all secrets, no one will easily leak their skills, they all rely on their own groping , no one pointed out, Li Maosen didn't know where to start.

Seeing Wang Dou's disappointed expression, Li Maosen gritted his teeth and said, "I've let you down, but I can recommend a talent to you with a humble job. Maybe that person has a way."

Wang Dou asked, "Who?"

Li Maosen said: "It's Lai Yuanlong, the ambassador of the Security and Military Weapons Bureau. This person is curious about his skills, but he is not ordinary. He is buried in the Military Weapons Bureau."

According to what Li Maosen said, this Lai Yuanlong is good at technology, but he is not good at communicating with people, and his power is all taken away by the deputy envoys and craftsmen below. Come on, make the most of everything.

Li Maosen said: "When I was in the Military Weapons Bureau, I had a good relationship with Ambassador Lai. It's better to go to the lobby to lobby. It's just that the Acropolis will not let people go, and I have to come out."

Wang Dou smiled and said: "You don't have to worry about this, the important thing is that Lai Yuanlong is tempted and willing to come to Baoan Prefecture."

After the matter was settled, Wang Dou inspected the inside and outside of the newly built gunsmith factory. Everything in the factory was still messy. I don't know where to find it.

At present, there are more than 150 people including craftsmen and apprentices in the Gunsmith Factory. Wang Dou saw them making gunfire guns and armor swords and guns, and thought that in the future, Shunxiang Castle would have to set up another armor factory dedicated to making gunsmiths. For armor and knives and guns, the more detailed the division of labor, the better.

In the current gunsmith factory, if a craftsman puts it down to make this new type of bird gun, it takes about half a month to make a gun barrel.Although it was better than before when it took only a month to drill a gun barrel, Wang Dou was still not satisfied, the speed was too slow, especially the drilling speed of the gun barrel, which was really horribly slow.

He said: "Carpenter Li, can't the drilling of the gun barrel be faster? If manpower is slow, why not try water power and animal power?"

Li Maosen was surprised: "Water power and animal power?"

He pondered for a long time before his eyes lit up: "You can try for a humble job."

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Old White Bull:
Book lovers are welcome to write the biography of this book, fan fragments, whether they have appeared or not, characters on both sides can be written, their scenes, plots, fate, etc., and the interaction with the protagonist or his opponent, I am very interested See the birth of some high-level works.

(End of this chapter)