The Rise of the European Emperor

"The rattan card? What's that?" Liu Laogen was a little confused after hearing this, he didn't even know the rattan card.

"What? Have you never heard of a rattan shield? It's a shield made of rattan!" Marin was a little surprised.

Liu Laogen shook his head and said:

"The old man has only heard that there are rattan armored soldiers in the Three Kingdoms storybook, but never heard of rattan soldiers..."

In fact, the rattan brand has already existed in this era, and it is in Hu Jian. It's just that the rattan brand is not well-known at the moment, and only a few people know about it. It wasn't until after Qi Jiguang fought against the Japanese that rattan players were generally introduced into the mandarin duck formation, so that the rattan-branded Ming Dynasty spread all over the world. At this time, although there were rattan signs in the Hujian area, they were not well-known. No wonder Liu Laogen didn't know about them.

"Don't worry about it, just send someone to find the smugglers to inquire about the shields made of rattan. At the same time, invite a veteran who is good at using rattan to be an instructor. I will train these 200 people to become rattan soldiers!"

The rattan shield is a light and very strong shield. During the Anti-Japanese War, the rattan cards held by the rattan players in Qi Jiguang's mandarin duck formation could resist the sharp Japanese knives of Japanese pirates. Of course, the stone javelins and spears used by the rattan to resist the aborigines are not a problem.

Moreover, the ancient Hu Jian people were generally short and thin, and it was unrealistic for them to use heavy wooden and iron shields. Therefore, a light and strong rattan card is naturally the best choice. 200 rattan soldiers are enough to withstand the attacks of the aboriginal fighters. After all, in addition to wielding a shield with high protection, the rattan player also has a sharp single sword that can be used to attack the opponent...

...

As the saying goes, money can turn ghosts. After Marin offered a big reward, there was news of the rattan card soon, and the rattan card player instructor was also found at the same time.

The smuggler sent a middle-aged man to Marin, a lame middle-aged man...

The lame middle-aged man was named Li Qiangyong, who was originally a sword and shield soldier of Pinghaiwei in Putian, and an elite soldier of Pinghaiwei. But five years ago, when he was assisting Xinghua Mansion (Putian’s ancient name) to encircle bandits, he accidentally cut his right leg by bandits and had to retire. arable land. But because of the disability of his right leg, Li Zizi can't plow the land very well, making life even more difficult. Two years ago, Li Laizi's wife also ran away with someone, and took away their young daughter. After all, in the Ming Dynasty, a military household, and a disabled military household, had no future.

Because plowing the fields was not easy, the wretched generals where Li Laizi worked later refused to teach Li Laizi how to farm the world. In desperation, Li Zizi had no choice but to find another way of life.

Fortunately, Li Zizi is very good at rattan weaving, and can also use old rattan to weave rattan shields. At the beginning, when he went to the battlefield, he used the rattan shield he made himself, which was very easy to use. Of course, now that he can't go to the battlefield, he can't weave rattan shields, but uses rattan weaving skills to weave some rattan chairs, rattan boxes, rattan baskets and other tools, and sell them in the market. In this way, he can barely support himself.

When the broker found Li Zizi, Li Zizi was selling rattan weaving at the market...

"What, 5 taels of silver per month?" Li Lizi stood up in shock when he heard about the salary offered by Marin.

You know, 5 taels of silver per month means an annual salary of 60 taels! The annual salary of a county magistrate in Daming is only 45 taels. As for ordinary soldiers, even the well-paid Qi family army, the annual salary of soldiers is only 8 to 10 taels, plus board and lodging. And the annual salary is 60 taels... This kind of treatment is simply extremely generous...

Of course, it needs to be pointed out that the Qi Family Army has a recruiting system, and officers and soldiers are paid. At present, the Ming Dynasty is still a military household system, and the guards have no salary at all, and fighting is compulsory. Many of the military households' properties were embezzled by military officers.

Therefore, military households are generally very poor. Li Zizi, who heard that the annual salary is 60 taels, which is not as good as that of ordinary military households, was immediately tempted...

Then, this old military household who was good at weaving rattan cards, and at the same time knew how to fight with swords and shields, immediately followed Ah's smuggling boat to Danshui Port. Anyway, he's alone now, with nothing to worry about...

After Li Zizi arrived, he was immediately appointed as the coach by Marin, who was responsible for the training of 200 rattan soldiers. When I am free, I am also responsible for weaving rattan cards with a group of middle-aged and elderly people who are good at weaving skills.

However, a rattan brand that can be used in actual combat has a long production cycle, mainly because the rattan needs to be soaked in tung oil for a long time to make the rattan tough and strong, not afraid of swords. Therefore, Li Zizi first compiled 200 simple rattan cards that had not been soaked in tung oil, and let the soldiers train them first. As for the actual rattan plate, it will take a long time to process well...

...

What surprised Marin was that Li Zizi not only used old vines to weave rattan cards, but also used old vines to weave rattan armor...

"This...is it the rattan armor worn by the legendary rattan armor soldiers?" Marin is also a fan of the Three Kingdoms, and he was very happy when he heard the rattan armor.

Lame Li shook his head and said:

"It's not the rattan armor mentioned in the storybook of the Three Kingdoms, but the rattan armor weaved by the old man using the craftsmanship of the rattan plate. However, the protection is not bad, at least it can resist ordinary swords."

Later, Li Zizi introduced to Marin in detail the production method of the rattan armor-similar to the rattan card, the rattan armor also needs to use special old vines. Fortunately, the climate and vegetation of Taidao and Hujian are similar, and many old vines can be found on the mountain. After cutting these old vines, soak them in water for half a month. Then, dry it for three days, then soak it in tung oil for two or three days, and then dry it for two months. Afterwards, soak in tung oil and dry it...and repeat this five times to meet the requirements for making rattan cards and rattan armor, and then weave...

Moreover, in view of the shortcomings of traditional rattan armored soldiers who are afraid of fire, Li Zizi did not apply tung oil on the rattan plate and rattan armor, but chose to apply raw lacquer. Raw lacquer is waterproof and heat-resistant, and it is coated on the surface of the rattan. Even if the rattan is soaked in tung oil and is flammable, with the protective layer of raw lacquer, it becomes difficult to burn. Unless the protective layer of raw lacquer wears off, the rattan plate and rattan armor will become flammable...

...

Marin was very happy to hear that the rattan armor made by Li Zizi was not afraid of fire. So he happily said:

"Instructor Li, please bring someone to help these 200 people weave a set of rattan cards and rattan armor! As for tung oil and raw lacquer, don't worry, I will send someone to purchase immediately. By then, the raw lacquer for rattan cards and rattan armor can be painted thick One point, we are not short of the money to buy raw lacquer!"

Marin can already imagine how much threat a group of warriors holding rattan cards and wearing rattan armor, or can be called rattan rattan armor soldiers, can pose to the aborigines. At that time, maybe Kong Tai will be able to easily occupy the entire island of Taiwan without having to mobilize an army from the mainland...

Moreover, Marin was not worried that these rattan armored soldiers could threaten his rule. Because rattan cards and rattan armor have no advantage in front of muskets. It's okay for them to bully the natives who don't have guns, but it's not enough to face musketeers...

In addition, rattan cards can also resist Japanese swords. Perhaps, when Marin marches into Japan, he can bring some rattan soldiers over there to torture the Japanese samurai... It’s really not possible, get some moso bamboo to make wolf traps, copy Qi Jiguang’s mandarin duck array, and the Japanese samurai can be beaten to death. ...