PDLP Chapter 604: That guy must be lucky
Chapter 604: That guy must be lucky
The Ming Dynasty's smelting industry has developed for thousands of years. Although it cannot be said to be very advanced at present, it is definitely not backward when looking at the world.
In fact, China was able to produce good steel a long time ago, but the output was very low.
The biggest difference between steel and iron is the carbon content. The carbon content of pig iron is too high, while the carbon content of wrought iron is too low.
Blacksmiths combine carburizing with hammering the iron tens of thousands of times to produce steel with a combination of hardness and toughness.
Although it still cannot be compared with steels of different carbon contents produced by advanced technology in later generations, its performance is much higher than that of iron.
The biggest reason for restricting the use of steel to make standard weapons and equipment is production. It is impossible for the imperial court to have blacksmiths forge iron into steel through carburizing for every weapon and every piece of armor. The cost is too high.
However, the boss solved this problem by refining coke and combining it with a blast furnace.
Bi Maokang and other veterans of the General Administration of Manufacturing have already begun to build the first large-scale coking oven, and it only takes time to prove it.
If mass production can be achieved, the weapons and armor of the Ming Dynasty will be greatly upgraded.
Not only can it be used for military purposes, but if the output is sufficient, it may also be able to be supplied to civilians. This was unthinkable during the thousands of years when iron production was low.
"The boss is indeed a talent." Zhang Shikang said with emotion as he recalled the time when he and the boss built a stove together two months ago.
"The second and third brothers are also good. They have unique understandings of smelting." Wang Zheng said.
"Boss, your method of blast furnace coking and steelmaking may be enough to compete for the next Innovation and Progress Award." Bi Maokang also praised it without reservation.
Through the publicity of the Ministry of Rites and the "Da Ming Monthly", the court's newly established Great Invention Award and Innovation and Progress Award have now spread among the people.
For the common people, they did not know what the Imperial Medal was, but they knew the rewards of five thousand or ten thousand taels of silver and the titles of nobility.
For an ordinary craftsman, this is definitely a meteoric rise.
Bi Maokang and his colleague trial-made two pistols this time. Zhang Shikang hired a craftsman to design a special holster using animal fur.
The holster can be fixed on the outside of the thigh, and the robe worn on the body just covers it.
When you need to defend yourself when going out, you can load ammunition in advance so that you can fire at any time when you need it.
Bi Maokang even modified the flintlock firing mechanism to ensure that it would not accidentally fire when fixed on the leg.
But even so, there are disadvantages to fixing the pistol on the leg. For example, if the gunpowder is loaded for a long time or the body is too wet due to sweat, the gunpowder may not be easy to ignite.
However, this shortcoming did not matter to Zhang Shikang. He would just pass the gun to his subordinates to reload the ammunition every once in a while.
He may be accompanied by hundreds of subordinates at any time.
After chatting with Bi Maokang for a while, Zhang Shikang and his guards rushed to the nearby Xishan camp.
The expedition will begin tomorrow, and the Xishan camp is bustling with activity.
The soldiers of the Fire Camp were loading cooking utensils and other items onto the trucks in an orderly manner. The expedition of tens of thousands of troops would test the commander's coordination skills the most.
Since it was relatively safe inside the Great Wall, the baggage battalion had already set out a few days in advance, and the fire battalion was the second busiest team.
On the contrary, the main force on the battlefield, the soldiers of the cavalry battalion, infantry battalion and firearms battalion were relatively relaxed.
We are going to set off tomorrow, and in order to let the soldiers have a good rest, the training in the past two days has been cancelled.
Some of the soldiers were sleeping, while others were writing letters. Of course, most of the soldiers were illiterate, and there was often a group of soldiers surrounding a gentleman who could write.
These so-called gentlemen were mostly literate people invited by low- and middle-ranking generals from the neighboring General Manufacturing Bureau.
Those who were waiting to write letters were silent, including those who were dictating, all looked very calm. No one laughed at anyone, because the letters written at this time were basically similar to suicide notes.
After all, no one can guarantee that they can come back alive.
Of course, there were also quite a few careless guys, either bachelors or those who didn't care at all, and instead sat outside the barracks chatting together.
However, the expressions of the people sitting around were divided into two types.
The kind of person who brags with great enthusiasm, as if he had been injected with chicken blood.
The rest were somewhat uninterested and even felt envious of the boasters.
Of course, this is not because the braggart's boasting is so fresh and unconventional, but often because the braggart is lucky and is selected into the expedition team.
Yes, that’s right. Those who were not selected will never think that they are inferior to those who were selected.
So, that guy must be lucky.
According to last year's military system reform regulations, the Imperial Guards had a troop strength of 300,000, the Huben Army had 400,000, and the Yongning Army, which served as the security force within the Great Wall, had 600,000.
The Guards have recruited more than 26,000 new soldiers in the past year, and their current actual total strength is more than 110,000.
The number of newly recruited soldiers was not large, and the total number was still more than half of the required 300,000 soldiers.
It’s not that there is a lack of manpower. In fact, it is still the old problem. The court’s supply of food and fodder is still in short supply, but it is much better than in previous years.
After the new crops achieved good results in the first year, there was no need for the court to publicize them, and many people began to spontaneously receive seeds to plant them.
In addition, the canal digging campaign in the north was nearing completion. According to Song Yingxing's estimation, in about one or two years, the imperial court would no longer have to worry about food and fodder.
In fact, the imperial court did purchase a lot of food and fodder from the people last year, but almost 30% of it was distributed to the newly formed Yongning Army.
After the Wei Suo system was abolished, security problems within the Great Wall gradually emerged. The imperial court needed the Yongning Army to form combat effectiveness as soon as possible in order to deter and suppress bandits in various provinces.
It is also for this reason that, although both the Royal Guards and the Tiger Guards have recruited soldiers in the past two years, the total number is not large.
On the contrary, the Yongning Army, which was under the command of the Ministry of War, recruited more than 160,000 new soldiers in just one year.
In addition to 30% of the grain from the Ministry of Households, most of the military equipment produced by the Weaponry Bureau under the General Manufacturing Administration was also supplied to the Yongning Army first.
A total of 60,000 Guards were mobilized this time, equivalent to half of the actual number of Guards troops currently in place.
Those who are chosen certainly have reason to be excited.
The wars of the past three years have taught them that war is very dangerous, but if they want to be promoted, get rewards, or even be awarded a title, they can only do so through military merit.
As long as you can make military achievements and have the support of the Grand Marshal, the current court will really dare to give it to you.
Even if you haven't made any contributions, it's still more interesting than staying in the military camp in the capital. There are travel expenses and more food rations than usual. If you're lucky enough to get collective credit, rewards will naturally be inevitable.
Of course, if they were unlucky enough to die outside the Great Wall, they would not worry. The Ministry of Revenue dared to withhold military pay and food, but it did not dare to withhold the pensions of soldiers who died in battle.
Once, a clerk from the Ministry of Revenue withheld two taels of silver when delivering pension silver to the families of soldiers who died in battle. When Zhang Shikang learned about this, he personally beheaded the clerk.
In the past few years, their great marshal has proved himself many times with his actions.
Go outside the Great Wall to get some fresh air so that you can brag better to your colleagues and family when you come back.
In short, it is much more promising and interesting than staying in the military camp.
Zhang Shikang toured the military camp and received the soldiers' heartfelt respect and support wherever he went.
He did not stop at the Cavalry Battalion and the Firearms Battalion, but went straight to a special military camp next to the Firearms Battalion.
This battalion has about 3,000 soldiers, and the commander of this army is an acquaintance - Cao Bianjiao, Marquis of Annan.
The soldiers here are not as idle as those in other camps. You can hardly see many of them just bragging.
The soldiers in the camp were basically doing the same action - wiping their armor.
This is an army composed entirely of heavily armored soldiers!
……