Warrior in Turbulent Han Dynasty

Only a few days after the Khitan envoy arrived in Beijing, the Koreans let go of the matter of Tamna Island. Guo Shao finally heaved a sigh of relief, as if he saw the gate leading to mountains of gold and silver!

This time the Liao Kingdom hopes to negotiate peace.

After years of war and countless deaths, peace was long overdue. Guo Shao once again confirmed his point of view: the so-called peace is just the balance of war; when the opponent understands that the war has to pay an equally heavy price, they will cherish peace.

Guo Shao made a decree, saying that Khitan had a close relationship with the Central Plains, that it was a border town of the Central Plains during the Tang Dynasty, and that they should live in harmony, which also showed goodwill. But on the other hand, the Liao Kingdom was required to become a minister in order to establish the righteousness of the monarch and ministers.

It doesn't matter whether the Liao Kingdom agrees to become a vassal, most likely they will not agree. After all, the Liao Kingdom is also a big country that dominates the northern grasslands. Anyway, the Liao Kingdom did not dare to attack the Central Plains at this time, so it would be useless to negotiate a peace; if they really dared to fight, it would be useless to negotiate a peace!

The Koryo envoys quickly played and asked Daxu about the attitude of the Liao Dynasty.

Guo Shao asked the Ministry of Rites to return to Goryeo. Daxu had been fighting for years, and the people were suffering, and they had to rest for a while. The purpose of borrowing Tamna Island is to facilitate maritime trade with Korea and Bai (commonly known as "Japan"), and to accumulate military expenses for the national treasury.

Goryeo would never think that Xu Chao borrowed Tamna Island to attack them... Even if the Central Plains wanted to conquer Goryeo, it would be much more convenient by land. Going from the sea to the remote Tamna Island is a thankless task due to the unstable sea.

...In early summer, the crops on both sides of the Bian River are lush and lush, and everything is full of vitality. The artificial river dug on the Bian River is also full of water. Guo Shao came here surrounded by the official guards, and heard the "squeak" of the water and the heavy sound of the forging hammer from a long distance away.

Guo Shao looked up and saw that the sky in the armor workshop was filled with black smoke and was full of noise. If you don't look at the classical city walls and buildings, this battle is like entering a factory area.

The place surrounded by the city wall is called Jiajiafang, but in fact it also forges weapons, firearms and other ordnance; only because it was first built to forge armor, it has been using this name all the time.

If you want to ask why the huge Xu Dynasty is so short of money, except for the hundreds of thousands of forbidden troops who eat the imperial rations, the entire city in front of you is supported by the treasury. Except for the craftsmen and officials in the city, they are their families; not to mention the consumption of raw materials transported here every day.

The military supervisor Zan Jurun, the commander of the Jiaolong Army, Han Tong, and others accompanied him. Han Tong wanted to see the bronze cannons specially made for warships. The cannons used by the navy were different. Some parts were different in structure, such as using iron chains to cushion the recoil of the artillery on the ship, recasting the lugs, etc.

And Guo Shao went to inspect the armaments. The emperor came here from time to time, which can play a role, not only to understand the production of military equipment, but also to put pressure on the armor workshop, so that they do not dare to make rough and corrupt.

Guo Shao knew very well in his heart that there was corruption from top to bottom. Last time Li Chuyun mentioned that the county magistrate's collection of money was just a glimpse of the leopard. Guo Shao didn't have a good solution either. People made money and birds died for food. It is very difficult for government-run yamen not to be greedy. Besides, when the water is clear, there will be no fish. He just hopes that this group of people will not be too ugly in eating, and don't go too far. Just do good things if they are greedy for money.

"Your Majesty, live forever!" A group of people kowtowed outside the city gate. Guo Shao didn't say a word in the carriage, and after a while, the eunuch Yang Shiliang said, "Your Majesty let you all rest."

A group of people entered the city gate, Guo Shao lifted the curtain of the car, and saw the dust and smoke filled the sky, which was completely different from the scene in Tokyo. They then entered another city gate, which was the important area of ​​workshops and yamen.

When he arrived at the gate of the Yamen in the city, Guo Shao stepped down from the carriage, and a pattern on the screen wall immediately aroused his interest, because it was a scale.

He went up to observe, and saw that it was a fine straight line engraved on the marble with scales on it. Immediately, an official came up and bowed: "All workshops in the whole city use this scale to avoid the different sizes of workshops, which makes it difficult to divide labor."

Guo Shao turned his head and said to Zan Jurun: "This city has been built for several years, and it is still effective."

Zan Jurun was praised, he looked happy, and said: "It's all due to your majesty's wisdom!"

Guo Shao stood in front of the screen wall for a while, but did not go in. Only some eunuchs and officials entered... people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Household Affairs went in to check the accounts.

The ministers and generals followed Guo Shao straight to the workshop for on-the-spot inspections.

As soon as I entered the workshop, it was extremely hot and stuffy inside, and the sound was deafening. Guo Shao followed the sound of "哗哗" and walked over, and saw a rough and complex structure. A bronze cannon was being erected on a pair of shelves, the cannon body was clamped by cast iron objects and fixed with wedges. Guo Shao was very interested in the rapid rotation of the muzzle.

Turning like a big drill bit. Guo Shao took a closer look and found that the transmission is a hydraulic transmission wheel like a forging hammer. The iron chain is used to telescopically drive the large wheel, and then the drill bit is used to rotate back and forth by twisting force. A shirtless craftsman was wiping the sweat from his brow while dipping oil into the iron chain.

Zan Jurun said: "Your Majesty, this is grinding the barrel of the gun. After the copper cannon is cast, the barrel is rough and uneven, so it has to be polished smooth and smooth, and a drill bit is made of a whetstone on it. At first, the armor workshop used manual drilling, but the drill was too heavy and it was really slow. Later, everyone asked the craftsmen to make this thing according to the water wheel of the forging hammer."

The place is full of smog, but Guo Shao is a little excited. The thing in front of me is far from being called a machine tool, mainly because the vise for fixing the object (gun barrel) is too crude, and the drill bit is not very useful. However, Jiazhifang has gradually learned to make tools to process weapons, which is a great improvement.

Guo Shao pondered for a moment, pointed to the iron chain drive wheel and said: "This thing is inefficient, it can be replaced by gears, try to find a way."

Zan Jurun was a little dazed.

Guo Shao said: "I'll show you my paintings when I return to the Yamen."

He pointed to the frame of the gun barrel: "This table can also be improved. There is also a drill bit. No matter how hard the whetstone is, how much can it do? No wonder you are so slow in casting guns. Come up with some rules and reward those craftsmen who have figured out the results.

Zan Jurun clasped his fists and said loudly: "I obey the order."

Everyone went to another workshop, where the craftsmen were making matchlock guns, and many people were drilling and sharpening the barrels with crude but ingenious tools. Guo Shao has seen that kind of tool before, but he didn't invent it, it was invented by Lu Ban's apprentice, mainly for carpenters. I saw craftsmen pushing and pulling wooden tools up and down, and the awl drill in the middle rotated back and forth.

The musket used by Xu Jun has a limited range and lethality, but there are a lot of processes to make it. There are many people who divide the labor to do various processes.

Guo Shao also asked the head craftsman of the workshop to take a list to see the methods of management division of labor, and proposed some improvement methods on the spot... Guo Shao has never studied management, but he knows the most basic concepts: assembly line and standard work. In fact, this set of things was known in the Qin Dynasty, but the later dynasties forgot the method of the ancestors.

This armor workshop has been in operation for several years. Guo Shao inspected it and saw its progress. As long as the basic things are built and there is a soil for development, Guo Shao believes that everything will evolve!

At noon, when Guo Shao came out of the workshop and stood in front of the waterfall-like "hydraulic engine" (muses and horses were used in dry seasons), his mood was very different.

The loud clanging, clanging, clanging, rattling noises in the workshop seemed to become a wonderful symphony in Guo Shao’s ears, as well as the beating sound of a huge machine’s heart. From here, many dreams will become possible.

The sun quietly shines on the earth in mid-air, and everything under the sun will be a new beginning. Guo Shao is waiting for a huge amount of money to inject new impetus into his dream!