With 100,000 elite soldiers at the start, what should you call me?

……

The next morning, Li Tian rushed to the technical department and the engineering department.

Although the Engineering Department and the Technical Department are two different departments, in practice they are almost indistinguishable.

When the engineering department is carrying out mass production, any problems that arise will be reported to the technical department for improvement. After the improvement, the engineering department will carry out mass production again, and any problems that arise during the mass production process will be reported to the technical department again.

In this way, the two departments will form a technological feedback loop until no further progress can be made.

Therefore, the two departments were built together, separated only by a wall.

"commander."

As soon as Li Tian arrived at the gates of the two departments, many people greeted him there.

The two leading figures were Hu Yuan, the head of the Technology Department, and Fei Hongyun, the head of the Engineering Department.

"With so many things to do, and so many people to greet you, you mustn't do it again next time."

Hu Yuan looked embarrassed. He glanced at Fei Hongyun, who looked equally embarrassed.

Last night, the two received news that the commander was coming to inspect the area. They thought, "If the commander comes, he comes. We can just arrange for someone to lead him in."

But those around him said it wasn't good to leave the commander hanging on his first inspection tour.

The two then discussed it and led a group of people out to greet Li Tian.

Unexpectedly, it had the opposite effect.

"The commander is right, we won't make the same mistake again," Hu Yuan said as he stepped forward, then led Li Tian into the factory.

It was called a factory, but it was just a rather rudimentary forging workshop.

Workers pulled the double bellows, continuously feeding air into the furnace. With each pull, the flames inside the furnace would immediately alternate between bright and dim.

"Commander, this is a clay mold furnace left behind by the Ming army in the city. The temperature can only reach a maximum of 1300 degrees. At present, it can only forge some steel with uneven carbon content, which can only meet the current needs."

Fei Hongyun explained from the side.

"Because it was used as a transitional device, we didn't upgrade it much."

As they spoke, Fei Hongyun and the others led Li Tian away from the small workshop. Meanwhile, on a vacant lot near the river, a large factory was under construction.

"This is a new forging plant. We plan to build a blast furnace, constructed with refractory bricks, and use coke as fuel. With the addition of a large hydraulic bellows, we can easily produce medium carbon steel, which is 50 steel."

Fei Hongyun then pointed to several kilns under construction nearby; "These newly built kilns will be used to produce coke in the future."

"How long will it take to build all of this?" Li Tian asked.

"As long as there are enough materials, it can be completed in half a month and mass production can begin within a month."

Hu Yuan patted his chest and assured him.

Li Tian had no doubt when they said those words.

Hu Yuan is a PhD in materials science, and Fei Hongyun is a PhD in mechanical engineering; the two are a perfect match.

Moreover, they have a group of carefully selected outstanding talents under their command.

"Don't worry about the materials. Go ahead and do it. I'll have Qian Weicai from the Internal Affairs Department give you his full support."

After touring the future arms factory, Li Tian was very satisfied, as he didn't need to worry about managing things here.

Leave professional matters to professionals.

His meddling would only cause trouble for the people in both departments, since he doesn't have the extensive knowledge of the two PhDs.

All I can do is to unite this force into one.

Just as Li Tian was about to leave, Fei Hongyun took out a document; "Commander, yesterday the people from the Ministry of Agriculture asked us for black powder. We also need some of the dozens of tons of black powder that were seized. What do you think we should do about this?"

I took Fei Hongyun's document, glanced at it, and saw that it was basically a document for negotiating resource allocation between departments.

Li Tian allows departments to negotiate and allocate resources with each other. As long as it is reasonable and an allocation is reached, all that is needed is for the departments to stamp the negotiation document and give it to him for a quick look.

The Ministry of Agriculture wanted all the black powder, so they could refine it into fertilizer for planting and solve the army's food problem.

Fei Hongyun immediately objected, saying that giving it all to the Ministry of Agriculture was impossible.

The construction work in the engineering department is important, but so is the issue of food. However, there are priorities in everything.

The grain supply in Jianning Prefecture is indeed insufficient for long; grain must be produced within ten days to half a month.

The current farming plan proposed by the Ministry of Agriculture is to plant some short-term vegetables, such as bok choy, green garlic, and small radishes, which have a growth cycle of about 20 days.

Buckwheat, a staple food, has a growth cycle of 60-80 days.

If fertilizer is available, not only can food be harvested faster, but production can also be increased.

Early harvested vegetables can also be traded.

After a moment's thought, Li Tian decided, "Here's what we'll do: you give the Ministry of Agriculture twenty tons of gunpowder first, and then I'll order the establishment of a Ministry of Chemical Industry to specialize in producing various chemical materials."

After a moment of contemplation, Fei Hongyun finally accepted Li Tian's arrangement.

"Alright, we'll use it sparingly. A few tons of black powder should be enough."

Once the first buckwheat harvest season is over, Jianning Prefecture will never have to worry about running out of food again.

Currently, there are approximately 430,000 mu of arable land near Jian'an City. If we include the land that will be reclaimed in the future, there are approximately 800,000 mu of arable land near Jian'an City.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture's plan, 400,000 mu of land will be planted with buckwheat, and combined with industrial fertilizers, farmyard manure, wood ash and other fertilizers. After two months, the 400,000 mu of land can produce 300,000 shi of grain.

The remaining 30,000 mu of land can be used to grow various short-term vegetables to supplement the crop, while other agricultural products can be planted on the land that is subsequently reclaimed.

Only after overcoming the first food crisis can Li Tian's subsequent expansion plans continue.

With guns in his hands and food in his hands, he could have as many people as he wanted who wanted to serve him.

Therefore, Li Tian was more inclined to allocate black powder to the Ministry of Agriculture this time.

The saltpeter in gunpowder can be made into potassium nitrate, which is a high-quality nitrogen-potassium compound fertilizer. Unfortunately, this product cannot be mass-produced at present.

As Li Tian walked out of the base of the technical and engineering departments, before he even got into the carriage, a soldier approached him.

The guards immediately stopped him.

The soldier immediately explained, "I am Yu Feng, the company commander of the 2nd Company of the Shenji Battalion of the 2nd Army of Longxiang. I have something to report to the commander."

Seeing that it was one of their own, Luo Qiang lowered his guard and looked at Li Tian.

"Let him come over. Yu Feng, what do you need me for?"

"Commander, one of my Ming generals, Wang Qi, who has surrendered, wants to see you. He says he is the Ming army's national advisor. I think he has a special status, so I plan to come and report to you in person."

"So Wang Qi didn't die after all," Li Tian thought to himself.

What does this guy want to see me for?

Are you trying to assassinate me?

While not ruling out that possibility, Li Tian still wanted to see Wang Qi.

"Have him wait for me in conference room number two at the command center."