Rise From the Humble

Just do it. Zhu Pingan never likes to procrastinate in doing things. After making up his mind, he called Liu Dadao, handed him a hundred taels of silver, and said: "Dadao, you will lead the people in your camp in the past two days. Go to nearby villages and towns to collect cotton, the more the merrier, I will be of great use."

Liu Dadao's body is strong and strong, and he is now able to kill the Japanese pirates in Shangyu with ease.

He was born as a hunter, traveling through mountains and forests, chasing deer and hunting pigs. He was a man of extraordinary character who yearned for freedom. The long-term life in a closed military camp was unbearable. When Zhu Ping'an ordered him to go out on business, he was so happy that his back teeth were exposed.

"Sir, why do we buy so much cotton? Although it is very cold now, we have one quilt in our camp and there is no shortage of quilts." Before leaving, Liu Dadao scratched his head and asked doubtfully.

"Have you ever heard of cotton armor? I'm going to make cotton armor, and the Zhejiang army will have one when the time comes." Zhu Pingan explained simply.

"Sir, isn't it? Cotton can also be used to make armor?!" When Liu Dadao heard this, he opened his mouth in surprise. He couldn't believe his ears, as if he heard an old sow climbing into a tree. He couldn't help but wonder. Reliable.

There is no doubt that cotton can keep out the cold, but it would be ridiculous to use cotton for nail care. The cotton is so fluffy that it can make a big dent when you press it with your hand. How can you make a stomach?

"Of course it can be done. About six or seven kilograms of cotton can be used to make a pair of cotton armor." Zhu Ping'an recalled the method of making cotton armor seen in modern books, nodded seriously, and said seriously.

Six or seven pounds of cotton to make a pair of cotton armor?!

"Well, sir, six or seven pounds of cotton seems to be enough to make a quilt for one person."

Liu Dadao murmured, and a picture emerged in his mind: the two armies faced each other, and the Zhejiang army officers and soldiers were all wrapped in a thick quilt and went into battle to kill the enemy. The enemies on the opposite side were confused and laughed like crazy.

That picture was so beautiful, I couldn't imagine it. Liu Dadao couldn't help but shook his head subconsciously and was about to cover his face.

When Zhu Ping'an saw Liu Dadao's appearance, he knew that he had designated the cotton armor as a thick quilt. He couldn't help but smiled bitterly and said, "The cotton armor is not a quilt, but a style of armor. You will know when you buy the cotton. In addition, at the beginning, When we were defending the city of Jingnan against Japanese pirates, didn't we dig out a batch of cloth breastplates from the warehouse? Cotton armor is an upgraded and strengthened version of cloth breastplates."

"Oh, it's that kind of cloth-covered breastplate, sir. That kind of cloth-covered breastplate is just a fake. It doesn't do much good. It's not as good as iron armor for defense. That's why it was piled in the warehouse to collect dust. I'd say, sir. This kind of cotton armor is not as useful as buying a few pairs of iron armor with money."

After being reminded by Zhu Pingan, Liu Dadao suddenly remembered it. He couldn't help but shook his head and admonished Zhu Pingan.

"Haha, Da Dao, the cotton armor I want to make is different from the cloth breastplate. I once saw the method of making this kind of cotton armor in an ancient book. After the cotton armor is made, the rain will not be heavy and the mold will turn black. It's not bad, can't be hurt by muskets, and its defense against swords and arrows is no better than iron armor. When the cotton armor is made, you will know. Don't worry, I know it well, just take people to harvest cotton. "

Zhu Pingan smiled slightly and said confidently.

Made of cotton armor, it can be seen that the rain is not heavy, the mildew is not rotten, the bird can't be hurt by muskets, and the defense against swords and arrows is not much better than iron armor? !

Although Liu Dadao was doubtful in his heart, he still believed in the young master, nodded vigorously, and left "as ordered".

After Liu Dadao left, Zhu Pingan sent people to nearby towns to invite blacksmiths to the military camp. They invited as many blacksmiths as they could.

Cotton armor is divided into two types: pure cotton armor and cotton-iron composite armor. Pure cotton armor, as the name suggests, is made purely of cotton. The protective power of pure cotton armor is slightly insufficient; cotton-iron composite armor is divided into two types: clear armor and dark armor. For dark armor, the inner layer of cotton is covered with iron sheets with bubble nails, or chain armor or chain iron mesh is sandwiched between the inner cotton to increase the protective performance. The clear armor is based on cotton liner, and the iron sheets are tied with The form of armor is connected to the cotton bladder. Dark armor and clear armor have strong protective power, and have good protective properties against both firearms and cold weapons.

The cotton armor that Zhu Pingan is going to make is cotton-iron composite armor. To be precise, it is dark armor, which adopts the mature cotton armor production technology of the Qing Dynasty.

To make this kind of cotton armor, in addition to cotton, you also need a large amount of iron lining.

Therefore, the help of a blacksmith is needed.

There were no blacksmiths in the Zhejiang Army barracks, so Zhu Pingan sent people to ask blacksmiths to help them make a large number of iron sheets.

Previously, a large number of broken armors were brought from Linhuaihou Naval Camp and other places, and they were finally put to use. Ask a blacksmith to smelt these broken pieces of armor into pieces of iron, and then drill a hole in the iron piece so that the iron piece can be embedded in the inner layer of the cotton armor later and fixed with copper nails on the outside.

It was about tea time, and the people sent to hire the blacksmith hadn't come back yet, so the guards guarding the gate came to report that someone from the military department outside the camp had come to inform them of something important.

"Invite me quickly." Zhu Ping'an asked people from the Ministry of War to come in.

At the same time, Zhu Ping'an himself walked outside the camp. Soon, he received someone from the military headquarters led by the guards halfway.

"Your Majesty, are you Mr. Niu, the head of the Driving Department?" Zhu Pingan said with a smile and cupped his hands, recognizing the person.

"Xiaoguan Niu Xuan paid homage to Mr. Zhu. I didn't expect that it was just a one-time relationship. Mr. Zhu can still remember the name of Xianguan. I am really lucky. Mr. Zhu welcomes you from afar, and I am ashamed." Mr. Niu said with a face full of honor. See you in front of you.

"Master Niu is serious." Zhu Ping'an smiled and extended his hand to invite Master Niu to go to the commander's tent with him.

After entering the commander's tent, Zhu Ping'an took the teapot and poured a cup of tea for Master Niu, and asked with a smile, "I wonder if Master Niu has come all the way this time. What advice can you give me?"

"I dare not give you advice. I am here to tell Mr. Zhu on the order of Zhang Shangshu that the angels from the capital will arrive in Yingtian soon. Please make arrangements in the camp and go to Yingtian immediately afterwards. Please wait for the angels to come at any time."

The owner of the cow reported back.

"The angel is here, what's the matter?" Zhu Ping'an asked.

"It's about the rewards and punishments for the Japanese pirates in Shangyu. As for the specific rewards and punishments, I don't know. Only the arrival of angels can reveal it." Boss Niu replied, paused briefly, and further said, "Except Master Zhu, all the Japanese pirates in Shangyu Local officials who were on the way to commit the crime, as well as generals such as guards and barracks who were responsible for protecting the country and the people and exterminating the Japanese, as well as relevant responsible officials, all went to Yingtian to wait for the angel."

"That's it. Thank you, Lord Niu, for telling me." Zhu Ping'an cupped his hands and thanked him.

"Master Zhu, you're welcome. I have to go to the lower level to report, so I'll take my leave. After Master Zhu has made arrangements in the camp, he will go to the Yamen of the Ministry of War in Yingtian to report." Manager Niu took a sip of tea and asked Zhu Ping'an to resign. .

"Okay, since Master Niu still has official duties, I won't keep him." Zhu Ping'an nodded and sent Master Niu out of the camp.