Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 189 But Wants to Live in Pengying (5)

The warehouse of Qiu's workshop is next to the account room, which is convenient for reconciliation and ordering.The raw silk in the warehouse is piled up like a mountain, but the goods on the other side have been emptied.Spinning is now much faster than weaving.The hydraulic spinning wheel already has more than 100 spindles, and the yarn and twisted strands spun every day are more than [-] times that of the spinning wheels of farmers in the Kanto region.Cotton mills have tasted the sweetness of improved machinery, and in places where there is no water power, they use animal power to drive large spinning wheels.There are at least [-] or [-] spindles in the spinning wheel with human feet.Due to the consumption of cold winter in various places, the warehouses in the counties and states in the northwest have to replenish silk with new goods.The caravan was about to set off, and if there were no additional manpower, it might be difficult for the goods to keep up with the spring trip.The Ruifukui shop has traveled all over the world, and has never run out of stock.

In order to save lamp oil, only one oil lamp was lit in the counting room.The owner, Qiu Daguan, likes this haggling style.Shopkeeper Luo is like a tame and loyal dog in front of Daguan Qiu. In front of these foremen, he is even more powerful than a tiger with its fangs grinning. A foreman once took the workers to other workshops in private, and he found out , Immediately interrupted the legs and set the house rules.Few of the foremen who showed their might in front of the workers did not tremble in front of the thunderous fury of shopkeeper Luo.

"It's all trash. After a few days, I didn't even recruit a slacker." Luo Shouyong's face was darker than the lights.

"Shopkeeper, I really don't blame us," Qiu Liu'er dared to say, "The people in the Xihe Patrol Office lost their minds and drove the refugees to go to Shishan. All the money along the way was tied up with the imperial court, and they will be granted land as soon as they go. The Patrol Office I also found someone to paint a dozen or so paintings and put them up in the yard of the screening office, describing the workshop as if it were a hell of evil spirits, and now when the refugees see us, we all run away. No amount of persuasion will help."

"The workshop paid so much taxes," Luo Shouyong gritted his teeth and scolded, "These grandsons, the grandsons who crossed the river and demolished the bridge!"

Senior officials Qiu always only look at the results, not the means.Now that no new apprentices can be recruited, the workshop has to find another way to produce new goods before the spring caravan leaves. There is a lot of work, and the wages are high. Also, add a steamed bun for snacks." There are thousands of apprentices in Ruifukui Weaving Workshop, and adding wages is just an account. When the apprenticeship expires, Luo Shouyong will have his own Way to clean them up.Adding a steamed bun is a "not small" expense.Luo Shouyong, who kept money like his life, felt a slight twitch in his heart, as if his blood had been spilled.

"Shopkeeper, where is the boss?" The servant asked hesitantly.

"I'll go and talk to my boss." Luo Shouyong said in a deep voice.He picked up a pair of scissors and cut off half of the oil lamp wick, and the flame that had burned up just now dimmed down again.

In the Marching Division of the Grand General's Mansion in Dunhuang, Zhang Shanfu closed the file with a "snap", and said to himself, "What does the firearms department mean when you go back on your promise?" In the file, it was impressively written that according to the system, the artillery battalion of the New Army will consist of ten The captain elected the centurion, and then the five gunner centurions elected the captain, and the five cavalry centurions elected the deputy captain.When the temporary centurion was first appointed, the tacit understanding between Zhang Shanfu and Wang Yunzhong was to appoint the captain according to the training effect of each centurion.

Zhang Shanfu was puzzled, so he ordered Commander Shi to go to the Firearms Division to inquire about the whole story, and he replied with a dead face and memorized the official article, which was done according to the usual practice.Zhang Shanfu had no choice but to ask Wang Yunzhong himself.

"I have been using the system of sergeant selection for a hundred years," Wang Yunzhong said with embarrassment on his face, spreading his hands, "If you appoint a new lieutenant, the gunners will not accept it." He bowed his head a little guilty, He read the election system again, as if he was carefully considering whether there was anything wrong with the words, "The election system of the New Artillery Battalion is no different from other battalions right now."

After Wang Yunzhong read the manuscript slowly, the cloud on Zhang Shanfu's face became more and more cloudy, and he said in a deep voice: "The officers are not familiar with each other, so it is not appropriate to just recommend them like this?" What he meant was, If it is recommended, those who were originally from the city's fire artillery battalion are likely to join hands to reject officers from other departments, especially capable and promising officers like Zhao De.

"This," Wang Yunzhong's expression became even more embarrassing, he stammered, "This, after all, is following the old rules and recommending talents, the Huguo Mansion and Zhu Guofu will not say anything more, this is a firearm General Zhang doesn't have to worry about the military affairs within the department." After he mustered up his courage and finished speaking, he felt a slight sweat dripping from his vest.

When he said "Military affairs within the Firearms Department", Zhang Shanfu's eyes suddenly froze, his face turned cold, he was silent for a moment, and said with a sneer: "In this case, I am troubled. I also hope that the general Wang Forgive me." He didn't talk too much with Wang Yunzhong, turned around and walked out.Wang Yunzhong looked up at his back, heaved a sigh of relief, and leaned back on the wide wicker chair.

These days, four other gunner centurions have come to complain to him, saying that a foreign officer, because he didn't care about the life and death of his brothers in the battalion, actually killed the fire department's own people on the shooting range .The other infantry and cavalry officers began to laugh at the city fire artillery battalion as nothing more than that.Several long-time confidants also spread many rumors to Wang Yunzhong's ears.

Not long after, Chang Shi Bai Baozhi and Fu Tingguang came in.Bai Baozhi bowed and said: "General, just now Zhang Xingjun seems to have a look of hesitation."

Wang Yunzhong raised his head and waved his hands with a wry smile, sighing: "This time we can offend the marching officer to death." He has always been very tolerant of the general Zhang Shanfu of the marching officer.However, the newly-built firearms battalion pinned the hope of the firearms department's turnaround, and the appointment of the captain was no small matter and had to be contested.In the final analysis, Wang Yunzhong, like most officers from the Firearms Department, could not see the newly built firearms battalion fall into the hands of officers from foreign departments.

"This is the internal military affairs of the Firearms Division. General Zhang's hand is stretched too far." Bai Baozhi smiled coldly, then leaned over and said in a low voice, "Could it be that Zhao De is really the nepotism of the Military Division? We can't let him succeed."

When he mentioned Zhao De's name, Wang Yunzhong's eyes flashed with a complicated look, and he sighed: "This person is also a talent." He opened the file of the training results of the new camp, which recorded the six teams led by Zhao De. The artillery group fired twice as fast as the other groups.

"This man is just scheming, and he is so ruthless." Fu Tingguang had a look of disdain on his face, "The regulations he wrote are clearly plagiarized from the rules of ordering workers in Guanzhong. This man's skills are limited, as long as the others A centurion also 'drilled' according to the regulations, so he was naturally compared to him." Such words have been repeated many times in his ears, Wang Yunzhong nodded, and he also believed that as long as the battalions "fucked" according to the regulations As a cannon, with continuous improvement, it can be compared to the artillery crew trained by Zhao De himself.Doing so would seem like crossing the river and tearing down the bridge. However, the first artillery battalion used for field operations is very important to the Firearms Division. If careful consideration is given, it still cannot be handed over to an officer from a foreign department. "This Zhao De," Wang Yunzhong thought rather regretfully, "Let's keep it for two years, and we will expand the new battalion in the future. As long as the old man is still in the firearms department, he will be compensated."

The Firearms Division insisted on maintaining the nomination system for sergeants, and the Marching Division and the Ordnance Division had no suitable reason to object.Ten days later, Huang Zhongxiang, the centurion from the Hangu Artillery Battalion, was elected as the school lieutenant, while Wang Tongdeng was elected as the deputy school lieutenant by the centurions on foot and cavalry.Quite unexpectedly, the sixty gunners who had been tortured to death unanimously elected Zhao De as a centurion, and were also aggrieved that he failed to be a colonel.Wang Tongdeng had a lifelong friendship with him, so he naturally fought for him. He was not familiar with the general of the Firearms Department, so he complained to his old boss Zhou Zhongyuan.

"It's so unfair." Wang Tongdeng scolded, "The Firearms Department clearly intends to exclude Zhao De. Zhao De is an honest man, but we can't swallow this." In the eyes of others In the past, Zhao Xingde was quite indifferent during the whole election process, but he was just preoccupied with the matter of building a new iron factory.According to the court's decree, if there is no special call-up, sergeants can retire after five years of service.Then the sea is wide and the fish leap, and the sky allows the birds to fly.Although the big iron mines are either in Liaodong or in the south.But in other respects, there is no place in the world more suitable for building an iron workshop than Guanzhong.

Zhou Zhongyuan's face sank like water, and he didn't speak. Wang Tongdeng continued: "When the temporary centurion was first appointed, everyone thought that the future lieutenants would be selected according to their merits. General Zhou, you don't know that Zhao De is in command. The artillery crew, one of them beat the three of them." The more he said, the more annoyed he became, and he cursed, "Grandma's, this bird egg deputy captain, I still want to stay there and get angry, I won't do it anymore !"

After Wang Tongdeng finished setting off the cannonball, Zhou Zhongyuan patted him on the shoulder, and said in a deep voice, "Don't worry, those who go out with the Yingying Army will not be bullied like this." He maintained his airs as a general. Wang Tongdeng persuaded him to leave, and just now he sat down and took a sip of tea, and scolded angrily: "His grandma's firearms department. Wang Yunzhong is an old fool." Reaching out his hand, he took out a file from the drawer and opened it. Look, it is a plan to dispatch military affairs, prepare to build the eighth battalion of Chengying, go to Liaodong to assist the Han army, and drag the Khitan people back.

When he came to the government office of Zhang Shanfu, the marching officer, Zhou Zhongyuan directly said that he wanted Zhao De to return to the Chengying Army and serve as the captain of the Chengying Camp in Liaodong.Because the Army Division is in charge of formulating the marching plan, the other army commanders are all in awe of Zhang Shanfu, but Zhou Zhongyuan and Zhang Shanfu are old friends for many years, so they don't pay much attention to it.This trip is to take Zhao De back.The official letter from Cheng Yingjun recommending Zhao De as the school lieutenant was placed on the table, and Zhou Zhongyuan stared closely at Zhang Shanfu's face, even if it took him to agree.

Facing Zhou Zhongyuan's aggressive gaze, Zhang Shanfu was silent for a moment, and opened another file on the desktop. It was actually written by the Marching Army Division to the Chengying Army, and it was also a matter of recommending the new Chengying Camp captain.Zhang Shanfu pointed out the recommended candidates to Zhou Zhongyuan, and there was only the word "Zhao De".

"This," Zhou Zhongyuan said in surprise, "it's true that heroes see the same thing."

Zhang Shanfu said with a smile: "The Liaodong Han army is in urgent need of artillery specialists, and also needs corresponding officers and gunners. I have considered coming and going, and only Zhao De is the most suitable for this job." He said solemnly, "With the support of the Khitan people In the past few months, the Mierbo horse thieves have been harassing our pastures. If they don't return the favor, the Liao people will think that we are easy to bully. In addition, the Jurchen tribe over there should also curb it , lest the Han army be annexed by them."

"Exactly." Zhou Zhongyuan smiled, putting his heart in his stomach.

Zhang Shanfu took out another dossier, which was about the establishment of the new Chengying Camp.

"The Han army in Liaodong has repeatedly expressed their feelings, and there is an urgent need for artillery. Therefore, in the newly built Chengying Camp, [-] artillery pieces and corresponding gunners have been added. I will negotiate with the Ordnance Department, and the newly cast artillery will be given priority to you. Here It is very important to assist the Han army, and the strength of the Chengying Battalion must also be expanded, which may exceed a thousand people. In order to prevent the captain from being able to manage it, one or two new lieutenants will be added, one of whom is specialized in artillery and gunners. Don't let the Liao people get it..."

"Yes, yes." Zhou Zhongyuan didn't expect Zhang Shanfu to be so magnanimous, he was so happy that he couldn't close his mouth, he only claimed yes.