The Soldier of the Red Mansion

Chapter 247 Indifferent to Gains and Losses?
At the foot of Niuxin Mountain.

Shili River.

"Not only are two meals provided each day, but you also get paid for each day's work, which is twenty copper coins."

Shop assistants from the surrounding villages went door-to-door to inform them.

"Really?"

"Not lying?"

The villagers surrounded the man.

The man was used to it and wasn't afraid of being surrounded by people. He laughed easily and said, "It's in that valley over there, a large, flat area. Why would I lie to you?"

More manpower is needed to speed up the construction process.

As long as there is money, will the Great Zhou Dynasty lack people?
A few coins a month is enough to attract a large number of people to work. It's not the busy farming season now, so physical labor is cheap and might as well be used.

Even if they only provide food, they can recruit a lot of people.

However, the local people who go there in this way are mostly cunning and can easily delay the construction period, so they still have to pay wages.

The villagers no longer hesitated.

It's only a few miles away, at worst I'll just make a wasted trip.

Hiring labor is not difficult.

Merchants would only seriously hire carpenters, blacksmiths, and other skilled craftsmen from the surrounding area.

The villagers, visiting for the first time, discovered that the former wasteland had been leveled into a flat area.

A newly built windmill has also been erected in the river.

As the water flows, the windmill slowly turns, making a "squeaking" sound, and the water splashes as it falls.

"It's so lively."

Someone murmured, feeling intimidated by the large crowd ahead, and dared not go forward to ask.

Fortunately, his companion was brave and mustered up his courage.

Before they could even approach, someone came up to ask them questions.

Upon learning that they were there to work, the person who had been asking the question skillfully led them inside, found a man who appeared to be in charge, said a few words to him, handed the people over to the man, and left alone.

The villagers looked at each other, and seeing the imposing presence here, none of them dared to speak out of turn.

The manager was quite experienced.

"Master Zhou."

"These people are yours. Let them do whatever work they need to do."

He settled the villagers down with just a few words.

With work to do, and many familiar voices around, including relatives.

Everyone gradually relaxed.

There's food to eat and wages to be paid, but you can't be lazy; anyone who's lazy will be fired.

All you can eat.

The daily wage is twenty coins, which is paid after each day's work.

No one thought about it anymore; they just worked diligently, hoping to have work to do every day.

The villagers had no skills and could only do odd jobs and manual labor.

Next to those adobe houses, there was a stove built, with a recessed area dug in the ground.

The furnace chimney is very tall.

The coke inside was burning fiercely, and you could feel the heat from afar.

A group of naked young men, busy and sweating profusely.

"These young people are really good at enduring hardship."

The newly arrived villagers remarked with emotion.

It's so hot, this kind of suffering is really unbearable.

"whispering sound."

People from the surrounding villages who were working alongside him said sarcastically, "You can't even go if you want to. They're apprentices, and they get five qian of silver a month. After five years of apprenticeship, they'll earn one tael of silver."

"Huh? So many?"

The villagers couldn't help but look over again and saw that most of the young men were only fifteen or sixteen years old, half-grown boys who were living off their fathers.

Their appetite is astonishing.

Apprentices can earn five coins each month.

This poor place of theirs is truly a wonderful place to go.

"This hardship was worth it."

"More than that."

"If you learn the craft well and can lead a team independently, you can earn five taels a month."

"I'll be good."

"Don't even mention five taels, two taels of silver is a lot of money."

"Hey, buddy, I have a few sons in my family. Could you send them over as apprentices?"

Immediately, someone came up with an idea.

"Dang Dang Dang."

far away.

The iron block hanging from the tree branch was struck.

"It's time to eat!"

People immediately put down what they were doing and lined up skillfully; even newcomers were managed obediently.

Looking at the generous portion of noodle soup, each person also received a small dish of pickled vegetables.

Everyone became obedient.

"Master Liu."

"time to eat!"

A manager came and called out with a smile.

Liu Er turned a deaf ear.

His apprentices dared not move, concentrating intently on their work.

at this time.

The molten iron refined in the blast furnace flows into a groove. To prevent rain from affecting the quality of the iron, a shed is specially built above it.

Around the earthen blast furnace, there was a pile of iron ore and several smaller mounds of material.

These impurities added to the iron smelting process are a closely guarded secret passed down from Liu Erzu, especially the temperature control and the proportions of the materials used, which he would never reveal even if he were beaten to death.

Whoever understands the intricacies of the game best will have the most advanced skills.

Liu Er believed himself to be more powerful than his deceased father.

His own father had no idea what the purpose of these materials was.

Liu Er didn't have to do any work; he instructed his apprentices to do the work.

The sensible apprentices couldn't wait to do more work for their master, the more the better, and each one was more diligent than the last.

Although they were apprentices, their masters didn't pay them, but others did.

Five qian of silver per month.

As for the master.

The master's guaranteed salary was five taels of silver per month, and according to the information they had, it was definitely more than that amount per year.

Everyone wants to become a mentor.

To become a master craftsman, you must first learn a skill.

The entire blacksmith shop was exquisitely crafted.

The ground was cluttered.

A hole was specially left in the lower left corner of the adobe stove to house the stove.

An iron rod is fused to the outside of the furnace and then fixed to a protruding piece on the upright millstone to form a bearing.

There is a tray under the millstone to suspend it in the air, and there is an iron rod on the other side of the millstone.

On the riverbank, a waterwheel, about two people tall, also has a pole extending out, which is diagonally connected to the pole of the stone mill with an iron ring.

Powered by the river's water flow, the waterwheel keeps turning, which in turn drives the upright stone mill to rotate, providing a continuous source of power for the blower.

The blower then sends a large amount of air into the blast furnace, greatly increasing the temperature inside the blast furnace.

The apprentices knew.

This is a craft passed down from the master's ancestors. When Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, lifted the restrictions imposed by the Yuan Dynasty and opened up iron smelting to the people, the private iron smelting industry developed greatly, and many technologies were born. The iron smelting technology they are using now was invented during that period.

The master said it was one of the best in the entire Great Zhou Dynasty, and even if there were good ones, there wouldn't be much difference.

As for the musket.

The master also said so.

The firearms used by the Red-haired Devils were made of poor materials, making them easy to imitate.

Whoever successfully replicates it first will receive a reward of three hundred taels of silver.

The master spoke again.

Each apprentice will be rewarded with five taels of silver if they are the first to successfully replicate it.

Five taels of silver.

Seeing that Liu Er and his apprentice were working so hard that they forgot to eat, the steward shook his head and could only leave quietly without disturbing them any longer.

The wooden stock of the musket was quite simple.

The carpenters had planed many wooden supports and parts, awaiting the blacksmiths' craftsmanship.

Liu Er disliked the fact that the iron materials in Datong were raw materials and that the processing of some of the finished materials was not good, so he took it upon himself to do it.

Once the iron is removed from the furnace and cooled into a rough billet, it is then forged into a wrought iron plate.

After becoming wrought iron, it was reheated to a red-hot state and forged according to the size and length of the muskets that Hong Mao had purchased.

Subsequently.

The iron plate is wound around a fixed cylindrical iron core, which the craftsmen call the "heart stick," and rolled into a cylindrical shape, with the seams overlapping about three layers wide.

We can't waste time now.

The seam must be hammered while it is still hot to fuse the overlapping parts together, forming a seamless tube, similar to a welding process.

Next, the gun barrel was reinforced.

Iron hoops were fitted onto the outer sections of the gun barrel.

"This is called a joint clamp," Liu Er instructed his apprentices. "It's to strengthen the iron pipe and prevent it from bursting. If any of you miss this step and cause trouble, don't say you're my apprentice."

The law is not taught lightly.

However, firearms are different from other weapons, and Liu Er didn't dare let his apprentices learn only a half-baked skill, lest it implicate him in the end.

The apprentices all kept it in mind.

After the breech of the gun barrel was thickened to withstand the pressure of the gunpowder explosion, it was then drilled and polished.

A drilling machine specifically designed for drilling holes.

It's actually just a fixed wooden frame, similar to a drill.

Drills come in various types and methods, such as swivel drills, swivel drills, and tubular drills.

Compared to screed drills, tubular drills produce a more precise drilling effect, which is what we see today.

The gun barrel is erected and fixed in a wooden frame, which is also fixed in place. A specially made long drill bit is aligned with the gun barrel. By manually pulling a rope, the drill bit rotates rapidly and slowly drills through the inner wall of the gun barrel, ensuring that the inner wall is smooth and straight.

This is also the most time-consuming task.

Liu Er, who was watching from the side, frowned and pondered how to improve the situation.

At this point, Liu Er was very confident in the gun barrel he had created.

But it's too slow.

An apprentice can only forge one gun barrel in a month, working himself to the bone, and can only make a dozen or so in a month.

Either hire more people.

If we hire more people, we can't hide our technical skills anymore. Everyone has to be proficient, and then we won't be able to keep those skills a secret.

Either they come up with an even more effective method.

If an apprentice can produce ten poles per month, that's a tenfold increase.

Liu Er was thinking about it.

I sensed something was wrong again.

Even if I figure out a new method that allows an apprentice to make ten muskets, wouldn't I be able to make even more muskets by recruiting more people?

Liu Er couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

What should I do?

My skills are already very good, and I can earn sixty taels a year, which makes many people envious. But sixty taels is the limit.

I've never seen a craftsman richer than a merchant.

It's only slightly better than farming.

Even with just a few thousand orders for bird guns, the money earned is more than one might earn in a lifetime.

Besides, there isn't that much work every month, and you can only earn sixty taels a year.

Otherwise, I wouldn't have gone north.

One order can earn you more money than you could earn in a lifetime, two orders, three orders...
The apprentices began to polish the inner wall with sand and gravel.

Liu Er, standing to the side, looked at his apprentices and had been pondering something these past few days.

"I'm so tired."

midnight.

Liu Er lay in bed, feeling extremely tired.

I've never gone to such lengths before.

The worries of the past month or so have been more than all the previous ones combined. There are just too many things on my mind. Well, Liu Er decided to stop hesitating and focus on making the money first.

Clean the cleaning rods, powder bottles, and lead bullet bags from the gun barrel, including small parts such as the trigger and matchlock clip.

They can be built simultaneously.

The most time-consuming part was drilling into the gun barrel.

In other words, all the other parts are waiting for the barrel. Once the barrel is polished, a musket can be assembled.

"boom."

Liu Er's apprentices used their new arquebuses on the wooden planks outside Zhenlu City. With the sound of firing, the lead bullets hit a large wooden plank in the distance and penetrated it successfully.

"boom."

"boom."

Wang Xin smiled.

With the arquebus successfully developed, the breech-loading cannon is believed to be just around the corner.

Many people came to observe, including not only military generals but also many businessmen.

During the construction of Zhenlu City, which took more than half a year, the local wealthy households and merchants in Datong gained a deeper understanding of Wang Xin's army, and even the names of many sentry officers became familiar to them.

The advantages of muskets and future warfare models are well understood by the owners of JUZHONGCHAN.

"Okay."

"It's no different from the original musket."

Li Dexing made a comment, then looked at Huang Wen beside him and asked with a smile, "Commander Huang, am I wrong?"

Huang Wen was the garrison commander of Tuanshan Pass.

Having heard that he had gained Wang Xin's trust and was given important responsibilities, Tuanshan Pass, as one of the two important passes, although not as good as Weiyuan Pass at present, has attracted many people who are eager to try their luck, given the example of Weiyuan Pass.

"Mr. Li has a really good eye."

Huang Wen gave a thumbs up.

The two of them laughed heartily.

Not far away, Xue Baoqin covered her ears at a cloth tent propped up by a few bamboo poles, but her eyes were full of excitement as she watched with great interest.

"elder brother."

"The sound is so loud."

In front of outsiders, Xue Ke was unwilling to show his sister too much affection.

What if others think that the Xue family spoils their daughter too much, which would be detrimental to her sister's future marriage?

However, I couldn't help but complain: "I told you not to come, but you insisted. Should I send you back first?"

"No."

Xue Baoqin immediately refused.

"If he, a bookworm, can put up with it, am I any less capable than him?"

Xue Baoqin pointed at Zheng Hao and laughed.

Xue Ke turned his head and glanced at Zheng Hao.

When Zheng Hao heard Xue Baoqin say his words, his face turned red and he stammered.

"I'm not a bookworm."

Xue Ke snorted coldly.

Zheng Hao, relying on his age, looks down on his own abilities.

I often compete with him.

This current attitude is clearly due to the younger sister.

In the past two years, as her younger sister has grown up, more and more people have lost their composure upon seeing her. Xue Ke felt both pleased and displeased.

Hearing Xue Ke's cold snort, Zheng Hao felt like a caught thief, completely lacking confidence and not daring to look at Xue Ke, much less Xue Baoqin.

Just hearing Xue Baoqin's voice made Zheng Hao feel like his heart was about to explode.

"Brother, stop bullying people."

Xue Baoqin chuckled, her laughter clear and crisp.

Seeing that his younger sister really didn't want to go back, and knowing her personality, Xue Ke stopped worrying too much.

On the contrary, it was Zheng Hao.

Hearing Xue Baoqin speak up for him, his face turned completely red, and he dared not lift his head.

Xue Ke was unsurprised and used to it.

Upon seeing Wang Xin's father beside him, Xue Ke's eyes revealed a hint of worry.

My father's business has expanded too much.

He had been working tirelessly in the south, from the mainland to overseas, and now he was involved in Datong and Beijing. His business was making great strides, but Xue Ke felt distressed about the hardships he had endured.

The Xue family owns 20% of the shares in Juzhongchang.

My father was willing to risk everything for those 20% of the shares.

But what was the general's purpose?

The general only owns half a percent of the shares; the remaining 30 percent belongs to the army, not the general.

Xue Ke didn't quite understand.

Does the general seem to be doing all the work for others, completely indifferent to his own gains and losses?
(End of this chapter)