I am not an ant thief in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 487, Difficult Cannon Casting
Hearing that the nobles in Qingzhou wanted to reconcile with Xu Wei, Wang Gai shook his head with a wry smile and said, "It's difficult! Our ruling willpower is beyond everyone's imagination. If he is willing to accept us, the world will already be his. Yes. But he just thinks that we are the great evil of the world, and he wants to uproot us from the land of the big man! I don’t know that he has such a great hatred for us, and the people who offended his obvious eunuchs at the beginning , it stands to reason that he should have a deep hatred for the eunuch party!"

In fact, what Xu Wei said is very clear, and Wang Gai and the others also understand it very clearly, but it is definitely impossible for them to admit that they are the biggest danger of the big man!

Linghu Chong also followed helplessly and said: "Now Lei Gong is getting stronger and stronger day by day, and his power is also getting stronger day by day. Back then, he only occupied Mayi and wanted to clear us up, but now there is no power in the world to do it." After resisting Lei Gong, he will not even want to reconcile!"

"Unless you are like us and let your disciples and old officials withdraw from official careers, and your family's children will not join the army, and the fields will be distributed to ordinary people, then you will have no threat to Dagan at all!"

Kong Yu refused to accept, "What's the difference between this and defeat and surrender?"

Cui Yi was surprised and said, "Could it be, didn't you come to surrender!"

Kong Yu said irritably, "Of course not, we are here to discuss peace, and we are not defeated yet!"

Liu Hedao: "It is because you have not been defeated that you have this condition. At least your family property is preserved, and your children can also take the imperial examination and re-enter official careers. You don't have to completely cut off the way forward like us defeated. You can only be reduced to merchants!"

Cui Yi also followed helplessly and said: "Look at us, we are losers. Now even if we are bankrupt, we still want Lei Gong to lift our restriction. If Qingzhou is conquered by the big gang, we may be your role model!"

Guoyuan said: "I want to ask to see Master Xiangkai, and I also ask Brother Cui to help inform Master Xiangkai's whereabouts!"

Cui Yi said: "Master Xiangkai is about to arrive in Ji County, when he comes, I will tell my brother!"

Guoyuan cupped his fists and said, "Thank you, brother Cui!"

Then Cui Yi thought for a while and asked, "My brother, is Cui Yan okay in Qingzhou?"

The Cui family was originally the leader of the noble family in Hebei. After Xu Wei occupied Jizhou, the Cui family had to split up. Side branches like Cui Yi stayed in Hebei to wait and see the situation. They didn't expect that Cao Cao would force Cui Yan to stay in Qingzhou directly because of the gunpowder problem, but after Cui Yan's gunpowder was manufactured, Cao Cao was even more reluctant to let Cui Yan leave, even in the name of protecting Cui Yan's safety Send troops to monitor Cui Yan!

Originally, Cao Cao’s actions would arouse criticism from scholars, but now under the pressure of Xu Wei, Qingzhou clansmen all know the importance of Cui Yan to Qingzhou, and even Kong Rong asked Cui Yan to stay in Qingzhou in the name of an old friend Give them a hand!
And his senior brothers also came to persuade him to stay!Cui Yan saw that his old friends were persuading him in this way, what else could he do, he could only stay in Qingzhou and help Cao Cao cast the cannon!
Guoyuan said: "Senior brother is deeply appreciated by Cao Zhoumu in Qingzhou, and his status in Qingzhou is only under Xun Yu and Guo Jia. Brother Cui doesn't have to worry about the safety of senior brother!"

Cui Yi has no choice, as long as he can survive in this troubled world!

Qingzhou, Beihai County!Pingshou County, Cannon Factory!

Cao Cao brought Xun Yu, Guo Jia and other cronies to the Cannon Factory!

The whole factory was full of flames, and the heat was smoky!Cao Cao and the others were already sweating profusely within less than half a stick of incense entering here!But he was still happy to see the cannons taking shape!
"How many cannons can the Artillery Factory produce each month?"

Cui Yan said: "There are 20 cannons. There is no technical difficulty in making cannons from bronze. The difficulty of casting a cannon weighing a thousand catties is not as difficult as casting a large tripod weighing tens of thousands of catties."

When Cao Cao heard this number, he frowned and said: "That is to say, there are only 240 doors in one year of casting, which is enough! Lei Gong has thousands of doors, and our number is ten times worse than Lei Gong. If this goes to the battlefield, we Brother Ji Gui, you must find a way to improve the efficiency of the artillery factory, if you can cast hundreds of them in a month, this can meet the needs of our Qingzhou!"

Cui Yan said: "This is already the limit, and it is difficult to improve. Every time a bronze cannon is cast, a model must be cast first. These models need half a month to dry in the shade. If the time is short, the water vapor in the mold will enter the cannon. Let the cannon have trachoma, such a cannon cannot be used! Moreover, raw materials and skilled bronze craftsmen are all problems. If you want to speed up the efficiency of casting cannons, the cost will rise in a straight line, I am afraid that Qingzhou will not be able to bear it!"

Xun Yu said strangely: "The process of casting cannons is so cumbersome. Where did Lei Gong get so many cannons? It is impossible for Lei Gong to have developed cannons when he was in Mayi. It took him ten years to accumulate this amount. Thousands of cannons?"

Cui Yan was also surprised and said: "This is also what makes Yan feel strange. Although artillery casting is not a difficult technology, it is extremely labor-intensive and time-consuming. It stands to reason that it will take several years to build these thousands of artillery pieces. The accumulation of time, but we all know that artillery has not appeared on the battlefield for more than 5 years, and most of the thousands of artillery in Lei Gong's hands were cast in the past few years, after all, it is impossible for him to leave such a weapon of war unused!"

Guo Jia on the side said calmly: "It's so strange, Dagan must have some cannon-casting technology that we don't know, so his casting speed is more than ten times that of ours. You must know that Lei Gong is most important. It’s craftsmen, he pays more attention to craftsmen than the nobles in the world! The craftsmen at the grand master level are the ones with the highest status and the best treatment. It is said that each of them can have a monthly salary of millions of dollars every year. I None of the great generals in the DPRK received such good treatment!"

"And Lei Gong's improvement of the treatment of craftsmen also played an obvious role. Dagan's weapons and equipment have always been the most sophisticated, and elevated aqueducts, waterwheels, windmills, rail carriages, and new textile machines have also been built in Dagan territory. Spinning machines and other machinery that can make the country rich and the people strong!"

Cui Yan thought of so many new machines in Dagan territory, and said helplessly: "Brother Feng Xiao said it is really possible. Lei Gong should have mastered the new artillery casting technology, otherwise their number of artillery would not be so many!"

After thinking for a long time, Cao Cao asked Guo Jia, "Can we find a way to go to the land of Hebei and lure some cannon-casting craftsmen? As long as they are willing to come, even the Marquis, Cao Cao is willing to help them recommend to the court!"

Guo Jia said with a wry smile: "The treatment of this kind of cannon-casting craftsman is not much worse than that of the marquis. There are several marquises in the big man who can earn millions of dollars a month!"

Cao Cao calmly said: "Then can you bring some master craftsmen here? As long as they can hand over the new-style cannon casting skills, don't worry too much about the means!"

Guo Jiadao: "We can give it a try, but we don't have much hope. Dagan's cannon-making factory is in Ji County, thousands of miles away from Qingzhou. Even if we kidnap the cannon-making craftsmen at such a long distance, it will be difficult to bring them back to Qingzhou. !"

When Guo Jia said this, Cao Cao also knew that he was whimsical, so he could only continue to inspect the cannon foundry, but he soon discovered that his cannon foundry only cast small cannons, such as Dagan's cannons. There are no cannons that can fire 30-jin, 50-jin or even [-]-jin shells!

He immediately asked, "Why did you only cast such a small cannon, and didn't see any of the big cannons and giant cannons?"

Cui Yan said helplessly: "Cannons and giant cannons not only consume more bronze, but also are more troublesome to cast and take more time. We have cast a few, but these cannons always have cracks for some reason. Everyone doesn't know what's going on, now we can only stop casting large-scale artillery, and only cast 10-jin cannons and 20-jin cannons!"

Cao Cao was dissatisfied and said: "How can this work? On the battlefield, big guns are better than small ones. If we only have these 10-jin cannons and 20-jin cannons, we will have to be beaten passively in the face of big guns!"

The larger the caliber of the cannon, the greater the power and the farther the range. When Cao Cao saw the small cannon in front of him, he could imagine that the next time he fought with Lei Gong, he would set up an artillery position. Under the attack, the blows were wiped out, but he was powerless to fight back!
Cui Yan wondered: "Duke Ming, my subordinates have nothing to do. There are only these old craftsmen in the artillery factory. There will be no problems in casting small cannons, but not to mention the loss of casting large cannons, more time will be wasted. Now the artillery It is already very difficult for the factory to produce 20 cannons, if it still produces large cannons with immature technology, I am afraid that the number of these 20 cannons will not be maintained, and the bronze consumed to cast a large cannon is worth a few small cannons!"

But Cao Cao still insisted: "That's not okay, Lei Gong has it, we must have it!"

Cui Yan said bluntly: "Ming Gong forgives my subordinates for being helpless, you'd better hire someone else!"

He, Cui Yan, is a famous scholar in Hebei, not to mention that he has been turned into a craftsman by Cao A, and now he is still so picky, I really think that Cui Yan has no temper!If it weren't for Kong Rong, his senior brothers, and even his teacher Zheng Xuan to persuade him to stay, he would have left Qingzhou, a place of right and wrong, long ago!
Cao Cao was furious when he heard this, "Cui Yan, you bastard, you really think I dare not kill you!"

He, Cao Cao, thought he was worthy of Cui Yan. As soon as he came here, he became the governor of the State Shepherd's Mansion. He ranked second among the civil servants, only under Xun Yu. After that, there was a small banquet every three days, and a big banquet every five days. For the banquet, Kong Rong was invited to speak, which allowed him to stay, but Cui Yan didn't return even if he stayed in Qingzhou, and he didn't even want to call himself the lord!
Now his behavior of putting down the pick has angered Cao Cao even more!
Seeing that the conversation between the two parties collapsed, Xun Yu immediately comforted him: "Brother Ji Gui, don't be angry, everyone wants to deal with Lei Gong!"

And Guo Jia also pulled Cao Cao aside and said, "My lord, now the entire Qingzhou is where Cui Yan is most familiar with artillery. If you kill him, who will cast the artillery for you!"

Cao Cao snorted coldly: "Now the artisans here have obtained the formula of gunpowder and know how to forge cannons. At worst, let Zhongde take over the artillery factory!"

Guo Jia said: "My lord, my lord! You think too well, not to mention whether Zhongde can manage the artillery factory well, even if he manages it well, it is definitely not as good as Cui Yan's familiarity. If we usually have time to let Zhongde I am familiar with the affairs of the artillery factory, but now the million-strong army is about to kill the Yellow River, and we have time to waste!

Not to mention that Cui Yan is the person who is most familiar with artillery in Qingzhou now, and Cui Yan is the only one who wants to get a giant artillery!If someone like Cui Yan who has been working on cannons for several years can't forge giant cannons, does the lord want Zhong De, a layman like him, to make giant cannons? "

After being told by Guo Jia, Cao Cao calmed down. He understood that Cui Yan is absolutely indispensable for Qingzhou to cast more and bigger artillery!The heart that wants to kill him is naturally relieved. For Cao Cao, he is still willing to show off to please people who are useful to him!

On the other side, Cui Yan also complained to Xun Yu: "Wen Ruo, if you know me well, I compared myself to Guan Zhong in the past because I wanted to show my ambition to govern the country and the country, but now I am imprisoned in Qingzhou by Caozhou Mu In name, I am the governor of Qingzhou, but in fact I am just a craftsman. I, Cui Yan, have studied the classics of governing the country and the country for decades. Could it be that I am here to be a craftsman and make artillery!"

Xun Yu persuaded: "Brother Ji Gui, you are now casting cannons not only to govern the country, but also to save the great man. Only brother Ji Gui can do this important task! Even if I want to cast cannons, I don't understand it. In principle, now Ji Gui is better than 10 Xun Yu!"

Cui Yan was in a much better mood after being praised by Xun Yu, but he still said: "It's not that I don't know the importance of artillery to Qingzhou and the big man, but Minggong can't guide experts from outsiders. The importance of cannons, but not only does a giant cannon consume ten times more bronze than a small cannon, but it also takes several times longer to cast, and it is also prone to cracks, making the cannon casting fail."

"In this way, we can now cast small cannons that can pass every one, but for casting giant cannons, one out of ten cannons is blessed by Haotian. If we really want to follow Minggong's idea, our artillery factory may only be able to cast one in a month. One or two giant cannons, what is the use of such an output? And the price of the cannons cast in this way is probably more than 100 million yuan. How can we use such expensive cannons in Qingzhou? It is better to find a way to cast more small ones. Cannon, enhance the strength of the Qingzhou Army!"

After hearing Cui Yan's words, Xun Yu also knew that it was not easy to cast a cannon, but he still wondered: "Since the giant cannon is so difficult to cast, how did Lei Gong succeed in casting it? In this Central Plains War, Lei Gongguang's 100-jin cannon 300, according to Ji Gui, even if Lei Gong spent all his money, it would be impossible to cast so many giant cannons!"

(End of this chapter)