The Rise of Ming Dynasty 1646

Chapter 638
Then Zhu Linmei handed over the detailed rules for the reorganization of the Ming army that he had drawn up to Zhang Jiayu, ordering him to lead the staff to complete the detailed rules and implement them as soon as possible.

Seeing that the officers on the side had sorted out the proposal to lure the enemy south, he ordered the meeting to be adjourned.After all, the troops still have a lot of things to prepare for, so they should leave more time for the officers.

When he reached the entrance of the staff hall, he suddenly remembered something and turned back to invite Tianxiang to come over.

"What's your majesty's order?"

Zhu Linmi continued to go to the Yamen where the soldiers were deployed, and turned her head to ask, "How many winter clothes and quilts does the logistics department have prepared?"

Ying Tianxiang followed closely behind him, bowed and said: "Return to Your Majesty, there are 1000 cotton-padded clothes and [-] quilts in the warehouse, and more than [-] pieces were brought to the army by breaking the barracks."

"Thirty-one thousand sets..." Zhu Linmei shook her head and said, "It's not enough. If Duoduo's troops can be dealt with this time, the army will immediately continue to march north. Shandong is already full of wind and snow, and we may even continue If we hit North Zhili, the water would turn into ice."

In the middle of the seventeenth century, the whole world had not escaped the Little Ice Age, and the temperature in winter was extremely low.The Ming army had been fighting in the subtropical region of the south of the Yangtze River before, and the impact of the cold winter was not obvious, but Zhu Linming knew that if the southern soldiers under her command did not have sufficient warm equipment, they would probably lose a lot of combat effectiveness due to the weather.

Historically, Napoleon and Hitler were defeated by the Russian cold, and even more than [-]% of the soldiers died of frostbite, far exceeding the battle losses!

Therefore, he must not allow a similar situation to occur during the Northern Expedition of the Ming Army.

"At least [-] pieces must be prepared."

Ying Tianxiang hurriedly saluted and said, "Yes! The last general will immediately go to prepare for the bidding."

Zhu Linmei nodded, and asked again: "How many catties of cotton are used for the soldiers' winter clothes?"

"Returning to Your Majesty, the coat is two and a half catties of cotton, and the trousers are one catty and three liang, and they are covered with two layers of thick linen."

Ordinarily, this thickness was considered extravagant in the Ming Dynasty, who else would be willing to put four catties of cotton on top soldiers?But Zhu Linmei knew how terrifying winter in Beijing was, not to mention that the Little Ice Age would be ten degrees lower at least.

"Double the thickness." As soon as he finished speaking, he felt uncomfortable. The cotton alone weighed eight catties, and the fabric was nearly ten catties. Soldiers had to carry quilts and weapons, etc., and the load might exceed thirty catties.This will seriously consume the physical strength of soldiers.

Didn't the future generations feel that the burden was heavy?Zhu Linmi couldn't help laughing when she thought of this, who would still wear cotton-padded jackets in later generations?They are all down jackets to solve the problem, and they only weigh two or three catties, and their warmth can beat the big cotton jackets in seconds.

right!If you have such a big killer to keep out the cold, why worry about the northern weather?He then ordered Ying Tianxiang to say: "No, the thickness of the cotton coat is halved, and another hundred thousand catties of chicken, duck and goose down will be collected."

"Ah?" Ying Tianxiang hurriedly remonstrated, "Your Majesty, two catties of cotton all over my body may not be enough to keep out the cold..."

"I know, you just do it." In fact, Zhu Linmi didn't even want to wear two catties of cotton, but she was worried that it would be difficult to collect the down, so she didn't completely cancel the cotton jacket, and it was right to wear it as a warm interlayer.

"The end will follow the order."

"You will find some skilled garment craftsmen later, and I will tell them how to use these poultry down."

"Yes!"

"If all goes well, the army may go north in one and a half months, so we must pay close attention to the preparations for winter clothes." Zhu Linmi also instructed, "The bidding price can be relaxed, and we must choose powerful merchants, and choose a few more for preparation. Unexpected."

"The end will be remembered."

Zhu Linming said again: "By the way, since it is necessary to invite merchants to bid on a large scale, it is better to also invite bids for other military supplies.

"In terms of food and grass, we can add a contractor. After all, the food and grass in the north are not as abundant as those in the south of the Yangtze River. Military boots and military caps also need to be replenished for winter. Although the transport vehicles need to be manufactured by the Military Weapons Bureau, the frame can be contracted out."

He immediately opened his mind, "Even the shipyard came to invite bids together. Timber, canvas, hemp rope, etc., can allow merchants to compete. There are also necessities such as iron ore, coal, charcoal, sulfur, etc., all of which are subject to bidding. Corruption can be prevented.”

Speaking of this, he couldn't help snapping his fingers and said, "Maybe it's a good idea to hold a large-scale trade fair. The venue should be in Hangzhou." Then he turned his head and told Shi Lin, "Then call the chief officials from the Ministry of Household Affairs, the Ministry of Industry, and the Ministry of Propaganda to come. Hall of Mental Cultivation, let’s discuss this together.”

"Yes!"

In the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Yang Tinglin, Song Yingxing and the others were all quick-witted people, and they quickly understood the meaning of the Holy Majesty, roughly discussed the framework of the fair, and went back to arrange people to start preparations.

Hong Si was in charge of arranging the Mission Office to inform the world of the imperial court's bidding.

At the same time, he also received another task - to publicize among the people that the war in Huguang is going well, and that the imperial court is preparing to send troops to the Northern Expedition to recover Yangzhou.

The more you say that, the more Jianlu will feel that you are playing tricks, and Nanzhili must be empty.As for the common people of Ming Dynasty, only by knowing that Huguang is safe can the hearts of the people be stabilized.

After discussing the matter, Song Yingxing waited for Yang Tinglin and Hong Si to leave, and said to Zhu Lin: "Your Majesty, the Military Weapons Bureau has made the new gun that you drew earlier. The new hydraulic punching machine for the miniature bullet has also been made. There are two parts. I wonder if His Majesty wants to see it in person?"

"So fast?" Zhu Linmei was a little surprised. These things were all items in the "Million Budget" customized a month and a half ago, and they were produced so quickly.It seems that the Ming Dynasty does not lack "science genes", as long as the imperial court supports it, the efficiency of scientific research is also just now.

"Okay, I'll go and have a look now." Zhu Linmi was quite reassured about Song Yingxing, but these things are very important to the combat effectiveness of the Ming army, so it's better to go and inspect them in person.

He asked Song Yingxing again: "How is the progress of the hydraulic boring and drilling and furnace steelmaking plant?"

"Returning to Your Majesty, the boring and drilling have already begun, but the strength of the drill shaft is slightly insufficient. I estimate that it will take a month or so before it can be used. As for the open-hearth steelmaking... I have been supervising the manufacture of military weapons in Antarctica recently. Fujing's side There are only a dozen or so young people who preside over it...the news was sent three days ago, and the thermal storage room has just been built."

Seeing the remorseful expression on his face, Zhu Lin could not help smiling and comforting: "It's okay, it's not bad to let young people practice more, the progress is already faster than I expected."

Open-hearth steelmaking is a technology of the [-]th century. It is rare for these people to be able to build a heat storage room in more than a month with only his stack of drawings.He thought to himself, but looking at it like this, if he wants the open hearth furnace steel factory to be put into use in a short time, he may have to personally guide it.

Zhu Linmi ordered Shi Lin to prepare a car, and was about to go to the Weapons Bureau with Song Yingxing, but a eunuch rushed over, after the ceremony, he said anxiously: "Your Majesty, I have found you, the Queen Mother has sent several calls People come to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, let you go there."

"Oh? The queen mother is looking for me?"

Now it is a custom in the palace to call Empress Dowager Zeng the "Old Empress", so Zhu Linming knew that the "Empress Dowager" mentioned by the eunuch was referring to her mother, so she ordered Song Yingxing to go first, and she followed the eunuch to Xianfu Palace.

(End of this chapter)