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

……

"Commander, I am Zhang Yuanhua, Minister Fei's assistant. Minister Fei knew you would come, but he is currently conducting a scientific research experiment and does not have time. So he asked me to come and show you around our military factory."

A refined-looking man walked towards Li Tian and his group with a smile and began to introduce them.

"Our factory has been expanded after a month of development, thanks to the comrades from the Ministry of Construction, who worked very hard to build the factory."

"This used to be our No. 1 gun production factory. The assembly line was powered by mules and horses before, but it was later switched to water power. We also added more than a dozen skilled workers, which made our gun production more stable and maximized our productivity. We can now produce more than 10,000 Jian'an guns a month."

"Commander, this No. 2 factory is the mortar production plant. It was just completed this month. It is still water-powered, but with higher precision water-powered lathes, grinding machines and other precision machining tools, the production of mortars can be increased to sixty per month."

"However, since the shipyard also needs the processing tools from Factory No. 2, the data just now does not represent the full production capacity of Factory No. 2."

Zhang Yuanhua specifically explained that this involves the strategic layout of the military's production capacity.

"Factory No. 3 specializes in producing consumable military supplies such as artillery shells and bullets..."

Li Tian nodded; "This production capacity is sufficient. In the future, I will transfer the production of artillery to Shaowu. The No. 2 factory here will be dedicated to building warship equipment for the shipyard."

It is now early summer, and there will be no war during the summer and spring seasons.

But the factory's production will not stop. The weapons produced throughout the summer are enough for Li Tian to equip several near-modern armies.

Following that, Zhang Yuanhua introduced the current issues related to materials and energy within the new military.

Coke remains in short supply, while the demand for coal is very high.

To meet the demand for spare parts for the Jian'an-made guns, the Ministry of Military Industry also borrowed a battalion from the 10th Army to specifically disassemble Hanyang-made guns.

The steel was kept and melted down to make new weapons; when there wasn't enough fuel, walnut wood was used to make charcoal.

Coke is made by high-temperature dry distillation of coal. In this era, the production cost is high and a lot of fuel is required, but Li Tian has no shortage of fuel.

Several stoves in the distance burn day and night, making the area even hotter in the summer.

The military factory in the military region is strictly off-limits to outsiders, with a very high level of security, making it difficult for spies to enter.

Those who can enter here are either suicide soldiers or people who have passed the test and deeply agree with the new army's vision of revitalizing China, leading the world, and moving towards the future.

However, apart from assassins, no one is allowed to access the secrets of the Hanyang rifle; this is an ironclad rule.

These people will only think that the new army's top leadership has great scientific research capabilities and can produce advanced weapons.

"Commander, this factory area is the recently constructed civilian factory area. It houses workshops for forging civilian goods such as water-powered locomotives, textile machines, iron pots, scissors, and kitchen knives."

After leaving the military factory, the group soon arrived at a civilian factory. Although it was called a civilian factory, it was managed in a semi-military manner, and the actual manager of the factory was Xinjun.

Only workers' family members, personnel transporting workers, and other relevant personnel are allowed to enter the factory.

Jianning Prefecture is well-developed due to the abundant water resources of the Jianxi River. Therefore, Li Tian directly ordered the construction of production workshops in the city along the river to use water power for forging, which greatly increased the output of various civilian goods.

Since the new army never lacks steel, any surplus steel is sent to civilian factories for reforging.

These civilian factories also became emerging industries in Jianning Prefecture, earning the new army a lot of money.

"Commander, you would never guess that the hottest-selling products in Jianning Prefecture right now are not the local tea, nor the cheap clothes woven by mule looms, but these sturdy and durable iron pots and sharp kitchen knives."

Zhang Yuanhua smiled when he mentioned these civilian factories.

"Oh? Let me guess, could it be that our iron pots are sturdy enough and our kitchen knives are sharp enough that some merchants see a business opportunity and want to resell them elsewhere at a higher price?" Li Tian guessed.

Zhang Yuanhua explained, "That's half right, that's part of the reason. But according to the Ministry of Commerce's investigation, because our goods are of good quality and low price, most of the buyers of our iron pots and kitchen knives are local rebels."

"They modified iron pots and kitchen knives as weapons and armor to fight against the local Qing army."

Li Tian was both amused and exasperated upon hearing this; these two items had actually become weapons for rebellion.

At that time, an ordinary cast iron kitchen knife cost only five to ten coins, while a steel-clad knife cost only fifteen to thirty coins.

Jianning Prefecture used medium-carbon steel from military factories, and the quality of the kitchen knives they made far surpassed that of the kitchen knives of this era. Moreover, they only sold for twenty coins each, and even then, the supply could not meet the demand.

Iron pots are even more expensive, starting at fifty coins per pot, and the larger the pot, the more expensive it is.

The factory basically only spends money on coal and labor, so the cost is very low.

Li Tian watched from afar without entering the factory, but some workers noticed his arrival and bowed to him from a distance.

Most of the people here are residents from the vicinity of Jianning Prefecture. Their families have been allocated land, and they can also come to the city to work, so their lives have visibly improved.

Many people are deeply grateful to Li Tian and even keep his portrait in their homes.

"Only with a stable income can you go further," Li Tian murmured.

The civilian factories were wholly owned by the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the profits were distributed as dividends to other departments by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

However, civilian factories are only just starting out and there is still a long way to go.

"Commander, Staff Officer Yao invites you to participate in a military conference."

At this moment, Secretary Weiqiang suddenly stepped forward and whispered to Li Tian.

"Okay, that concludes our factory tour for today. Assistant Zhang, please pass on a message to Minister Fei and Minister Hu, telling them to take care of their health and not overwork themselves."

"Yes, Commander."

Li Tian left the civilian factory and soon arrived at the General Staff Headquarters.

He didn't come here to advise on strategies; the people here are much smarter than him. He's just here to listen to their opinions and make decisions.

"We have already reached several decisions regarding the internal issues of the Lu Regent's government, as discussed by the Commander."

Upon seeing Li Tian arrive, Yao Bing got straight to the point without saying a word.

"First, we need to lease a coastal port from the Lu Regent's government. In the future, our military will inevitably need to engage in maritime trade and expand its maritime military power. A port is of vital importance to us."

"Secondly, we demand that the Lu Regent government sell us several ships."

"Third, send a Longxiang Army to support the Lu Regent's government, but do not actually participate in the battle. They will only observe and not fire unless Zheng Cai's army launches an attack on our army. This need not be communicated to the Ming court."

"Fourth, demand the return of the grain and fodder we lost from the Zheng family and make compensation."

"Commander, what do you think of these decisions?" Yao Bing asked, looking at Li Tian.

Li Tian glanced at the intelligence report on the table and pondered for a moment.

"The fourth demand is rejected. Our naval forces are no match for Zheng Chenggong's army. It is not the time to directly break with Zheng Chenggong."

The Zheng family was also divided into factions. Zheng Cai was Zheng Zhilong's nephew and supported the Lu Prince's faction, while Zheng Chenggong insisted on respecting the already extinct Longwu Dynasty.

The two joined forces to attack the Qing army in the Quanzhou area, making a great contribution to eliminating the Qing army. However, the Lu Dynasty court wanted to take this opportunity to get rid of Zheng Cai's control.

Li Tiancan's move was also intended to intensify the internal conflict between the Lu Jianguo and the Zheng family.

Once summer is over, he will never turn his back on the Lu Regent government.