Tiger Owl

Chapter 219 Looking for clues
The fifth day of the first lunar month is the last day of the New Year holiday.

In the morning, Pang Tong arrived at a residence in the east of the city, which was the home of Song Kuan, the chief clerk of the shipbuilding bureau.

Song Kuan was from Yuzhang County. He served as the chief clerk of the government-run shipyard in Kuaiji County for thirty years. Returning to his roots, he was soon recommended to Lu Su. Based on his decades of experience and expertise, Song Kuan gained Lu Su's favor and was appointed as the chief clerk of the shipbuilding department.

Song Kuan was surprised by Pang Tong's visit. He quickly invited Pang Tong to the guest hall, and the two sat down as host and guest. Pang Tong said apologetically, "On the fifth day of the first lunar month, many families still have to perform sacrifices. I hope this has not affected Chief Clerk Song."

"It's alright! It's alright! Our family has already performed the New Year's Eve ritual, so today is the last day of rest. We're very free."

At this moment, Song Kuan's wife came in to serve tea. Pang Tong took a sip of hot tea, pondered for a moment, and said, "I have looked at Song Kuan's resume. It seems that he worked at the largest government-run shipyard in Kuaiji County for more than ten years."

"Not ten or twenty years, but twenty years, from twenty-five to forty-five."

Does that government-run shipyard build ocean-going ships?

"Of course, we build seagoing vessels, and most of the seagoing vessels built in Kuaiji County are built in the shipyard where I work."

"Are all the parts made in the shipyard? Like the sails and anchors?"

"Some parts are made in-house, some are not. Shipyards can't make everything themselves; some parts do have to be purchased from outside. It depends on what the parts are."

Pang Tong remained silent for a moment, while Song Kuan said, "Military Advisor Pang, please trust me. I am equally loyal to the Marquis of Chu. If you need anything, just tell me directly, and I will definitely keep it a secret."

Pang Tong nodded. "Then I'll get straight to the point. We need to cast some large, high-quality iron parts, but we don't have the technology. So we're looking for craftsmen who know this technology. I've seen ship anchors in person; they're huge. The craftsmen who can cast ship anchors are the people we're looking for. Do you understand, Chief Clerk Song?"

Song Kuan then understood that it was about the craftsmen who made the anchor. He lowered his head and pondered for a moment before saying, "There is a forge in the shipyard that specializes in making various ship ironware. The anchor should have been made by them. The head craftsman was named Wang Chun, but he was already fifty years old when I left. I don't know if he is still in the shipyard now. In addition, the casting industry in Kuaiji has always been famous, especially sword making, which is unparalleled in the world. There are many excellent craftsmen there. Even if we can't find Wang Chun, we can find other excellent craftsmen."

"Where is this Wang Chun from?"

"It seems he's from Yin County. Most of the blacksmiths at the foundry are from Yin County. If the strategist is looking for Wang Chun, he can find a man named Fu Qu. He took over my position as chief clerk. He's my old subordinate and we have a deep friendship. He will help you."

Song Kuan then wrote a note to Fu Qu and handed it to Pang Tong.

Pang Tong took the note and said happily, "Thank you for your help, Chief Clerk Song, but please keep this a secret!"

"Please rest assured, strategist, I will definitely keep the secret!"

.........

The following morning, Pang Tong reported his search to Gan Ning.

"Through Song Kuan, the chief clerk of the shipbuilding department, I learned about the chief craftsman of the shipbuilding foundry, Wang Chun, who made the anchor. He is a very famous iron foundry in Kuaiji County. I will send someone to find him immediately."

Gan Ning nodded. "Have the officials at the Jiangdong Liaison Office find this person and tell them that once they find him, they should do everything in their power to send him back to Chaisang."

"Understood, sir. Arrange for a message to be sent by carrier pigeon immediately!"

Gan Ning rushed to the crossbow workshop. Although it was the sixth day of the first lunar month and the first day of work, the craftsmen had already used their holiday to assemble a giant catapult. Facing the most powerful giant catapult in the world, every craftsman was filled with great enthusiasm and sacrificed their rest day to come and work overtime.

As soon as Gan Ning entered the gate, he saw a huge and imposing figure. Its body, like a giant monster, stood high above the Crossbow Cannon Court's office. Walking to the backyard, Gan Ning finally saw this behemoth clearly. Li Zhuan, accompanied by his deputy chief steward Zhao Kang, came to greet him. Li Zhuan was only serving as the chief steward; the real person in charge was the deputy chief steward Zhao Kang.

"Thank you all for your hard work. You used your holiday to install the catapult, and now I can see what it really looks like."

Li Zhuan quickly replied, "Reporting to the Marquis of Chu, we also really want to see what the most powerful catapult in the world looks like, so that we can learn from it."

"So what did you learn?"

"We did make some progress. We were actually lacking in the giant shaft, but I also found that their catapults had shortcomings."

"What are the shortcomings?" Gan Ning asked with great interest.

"It's actually a very old counterweight catapult, which is quite cumbersome. It requires nearly a hundred people to pull the rope, which not only wastes a lot of manpower, but also requires training. Otherwise, if someone doesn't have time to let go, they will be pulled up by the rope, which is very dangerous. We can change it to a winch type, remove the counterweight box at the front, and directly use its own elasticity. It only requires about twenty people to operate, saving five times the manpower compared to the old one, and the effect is the same."

"I see. Then can we convert them all into winches?"

"Of course, but it will take time!"

"Okay, take your time, no rush."

At this moment, hundreds of craftsmen had already pulled down the launching poles and placed three incendiary bombs weighing thirty catties each, totaling ninety catties, in the launching baskets. Zhao Kang asked Gan Ning for instructions: "Lord Chu, may we launch now?"

Gan Ning nodded. "Launch!"

Gan Ning stared at the giant catapult, eager to witness its actual combat power firsthand.

A soldier lit the incendiary bomb with a torch, and Zhao Kang shouted, "Fire!"

The craftsmen released their hands at the same time, and the casting rods were launched with great force. Three burning fireballs streaked across the sky and crashed into the wooden house used for the experiment, which was 500 paces away.

The test site was two miles long and one mile wide, providing ample space for various experiments.

"Bang! Bang!" Two incendiary bombs hit their targets, and another one struck the sand, igniting a fire.

"Very good! Very impressive!"

Gan Ning repeatedly praised it, saying that if he installed such giant catapults in the important cities north of the Yangtze River, he would not be afraid of Cao Cao's army attacking the cities at all.

In the north of Dantu County stands a large mansion covering ten acres. This is Gan Ning's official liaison office in Jiangdong. Originally called the Yuzhang Army Official Liaison Office, it has now been renamed the Xichu Army Official Liaison Office.

Of course, in addition to the official liaison office, Dantu County also had an intelligence station. The two were completely different. The official liaison office did not collect intelligence, but was only responsible for conveying details to the Jiangdong regime and would also pass on Jiangdong's requests to Chaisang. Similarly, Jiangdong also set up an official liaison office for the Eastern Wu army in Chaisang, which was equivalent to the embassies of the two countries in later times.

The head of the liaison office is named Gu Heng, who is Qiao An's assistant. Gu Heng is preparing to set off for Kuaiji County. He received Pang Tong's order yesterday to find Wang Chun, the chief craftsman of the Kuaiji official shipyard foundry. Once found, he is to bring him back to Chaisang at all costs. Of course, Pang Tong also gave a reason: Chaisang also needs to build giant ships and requires large anchors.

The day after receiving the message by pigeon, Gu Heng set off.

(End of this chapter)