The matter was of no concern to him, and Yu Youhan listened to what others considered to be whispers, but when it came to him, the volume seemed a bit unscrupulous, and then he left the compound as if nothing had happened and returned to the old house to rest.

This inside story was something he had speculated earlier, but there was no conclusive evidence. Now, the sentence "chief helmsman" has already explained the situation. What kind of existence is the guy lurking behind these gentry? It's mysterious.

It aroused a bit of curiosity in Yu Youhan, but that was all. As for reporting to the Qing government, firstly, there was no blatant rebellion in this club, and secondly, he was employed by others, so he still had professional ethics.

But more importantly, Yu Youhan never thought that he had any legitimate relationship with that bullshit Tatar court. It was polite enough for him not to go on a killing spree, let alone betray his employer.

"Isn't it just one year? After one year, I figured out what to do. When I have money, there will always be a place for me to go as big as the world."

Calculating the time, one year later it will be approximately the thirteenth year of Shunzhi in the Shixian calendar, or the end of the tenth year of the Datong calendar. For Yu Youhan, it is nothing more than a name for time, day by day.

It's just a matter of time. It's a pity that not everyone can be like him. In his imagination, the chief helmsman who can run such a large mutual aid association should be a very busy person.

character, and facts proved that he was really right on this point.

The busyness of the governor's office in Guangzhou has not slowed down as the weather has turned cooler. On the contrary, it has become more lively than in summer. In terms of summer taxes, the areas recovered from the First World War last year do not have to worry so much due to the tax reduction and exemption policy.

, but in the autumn harvest season, the autumn tax began to be collected. Although it was not due until February of the following year according to the Ming court's system, for the local officials in the eastern counties of Huizhou Prefecture and Guangzhou Prefecture, this had stopped.

However, half a year of hard work officially begins during the autumn harvest.

Most of the skills of pouring and kicking dendrobium have not been left behind, and the fire fee should be collected normally. Shangguan has no time to pay attention to these things. As long as the prefectures and counties below do not go too far, the chief envoy Si Yamen, and even

The governor's office would just turn a blind eye. Because Chen Kai did not have enough interest to replace these normal gray incomes at this stage, and he had no intention of following the trick played by the Qing court in history.

, because the purpose of such operations is not to reduce the burden on the people, but to increase the burden on the people because of the shameful failure.

"As Huang Zongxi said, every tax reform, even if it is formulated with the purpose of reducing the burden on the people, often ends up increasing the burden on the people again and again."

Once again skipping the tax reform among the planned affairs in the book, Chen Kai couldn't help but think of Huang Zongxi's Law, which was famous in later generations. But then he thought about it, it was only the ninth year of Yongli, and Huang Zongxi was still busy

Since we are trying to overthrow the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty, I guess I don’t have time to figure this out. It would be quite tempting to bring up this concept now to get a head start.

"Forget it, let everything take its course. Anyway, I have done this shameless thing more than once. Whether Mr. Lizhou can survive or not depends on fate."

After laughing, Chen Kai couldn't help but think of what happened in Zhejiang. Zhoushan was occupied by the Ming army, which opened up a new battlefield. It stands to reason that the anti-Qing people in eastern Zhejiang would respond. However, Chen Kai was not optimistic about this, because historically Shen Tialun's restart of the Dalanshan Ming army was easily annihilated by the Qing army. Rather than expending strength at such an untimely time period, it is better to wait for a better opportunity. At least that's what he thinks.

Letters from Wang Jiang, Cao Conglong, and Chen Kai have all been sent to several anti-Qing people in eastern Zhejiang. For example, Huang Zongxi, Lu Yuding, and the rightful leader Shen Tiaolun. Of course, Zheng Chenggong's relevant explanations were naturally indispensable. Even when Zheng Chenggong mentioned the Zhoushan incident in his letter, Chen Kai immediately replied, believing that this was not the time to make use of the remaining forces of the anti-Qing movement in eastern Zhejiang.

In this regard, Chen Kai believes that Zheng Chenggong can understand his thinking and basically agree with it, because Zheng Chenggong does intend to regain Zhejiang in the next step. However, will Huang Zongxi and Shen Tiaolun follow his advice? Chen Kai Kai is unknown.

Things in Zhejiang are still just some idle players at this stage. Chen Kai hopes that these idle players still exist in the chessboard before he decides to use them. But after all, people are not chess pieces. He is influential and persuasive, but the real decision is still If Huang Zongxi and others are asked to do it, they will also have to bear the consequences.

That place was beyond Chen Kai's reach. In comparison, the initial backbones of the Tiandihui organizations in Jiangxi and southern Jiangxi were all trained by him personally. These people returned to the local areas to lurk, and then quietly developed members and established grassroots organizations. Although Chen Kai is still unable to actually control due to the long distance, compared with Zhejiang, there is a big killer with a teacher-student relationship, and there is an organization like Tiandihui. The centripetal force is unquestionable. Only with What worries Chen Kai is whether Jiangxi's Tiandihui organization will be exposed after it grows and grows. This risk factor continues to increase with the increase in members.

Worry is inevitable, but simple worry is the least meaningful thing for Chen Kai. Guangdong's tax revenue is gradually recovering, but supporting such a large army, especially Chen Kai, has never planned to stop struggling. , there will only be more and more places to spend money, and the amount will become larger and larger, so it is even more necessary to seize all the time and continue to toss.

The fragrant wood business in Dongguan and Xin'an relies on local resources. Fortunately, it is a renewable resource, so there is no need to worry about future generations. Even if it is non-renewable, Chen Kai will not hesitate at all. It is just the growth of the trees. The cycle is there. Although this business makes money on the unit price, it is stuck in the cycle of production. It is not at all like the silk in Shunde. With the investment of huge funds, the speed of industry recovery is almost amazing. Blood pressure skyrockets.

While the governor's office was busy in full swing, Chen Kai had already rushed to Foshan to inspect the construction work of the Foshan Manufacturing Branch. This was the most important steel base in Guangdong for a long time, and the isolated village casting was also one of the eight scenic spots in Foshan at that time, and even the most famous. But now, due to the destruction of the Ming and Qing wars, and the fact that Guo Zhiqi took away half of the blacksmiths by administrative order a few months ago when Li Dingguo's army marched westward, the scale of Foshan's iron production is now very small, and it is no longer what it used to be. It’s an old outlook.

When Chen Kai arrived, the factory wall of the Foshan Manufacturing Branch had already been built. The planning of this area started with Chen Kai's decision, but the components of the hydraulic machinery had to be manufactured from Chaozhou. By the time they arrived, they had already been

It was not built at the same time as the factory.

The wall is uniform and continuous, just like the Chaozhou side. There are teams of guards patrolling the outside with dogs. The sentry tower built along the wall monitors everywhere, and you can also look into the factory area. Compared with the outside, inside

The land has long been leveled, especially the planned path has been put into use early. Due to the large-scale influx of iron and other materials and raw materials, there has been a certain degree of damage, but there is no care for maintenance.

things.

The factory building is still built according to the style of Chaozhou Manufacturing Bureau. The first batch of hydraulic machinery components has been delivered. Chen Kai came here this time because the first factory building was completed. The following reported it, and Chen Kai rushed there immediately.

Come, because the role that will be played here is no smaller than that of the Chaozhou Manufacturing Bureau.

The huge water wheel is driven by the rolling water of Beijiang and is constantly rotating, over and over again. The water wheel is connected to gears, crankshafts and other parts, driving the terminal hammer.

In the workshop, a hydraulic blower pushed the furnace fire to an extremely high temperature. The apprentice used pliers to hold the iron material and put it into the furnace fire for heating. Then, based on experience, the apprentice's master heated the iron material to a sufficient temperature based on the flame and the color of the iron material.

Then he took it out with iron pliers, turned it around and placed it on the iron felt.

The hammer hanging on the iron felt hit the iron material at a speed of nearly a hundred times per minute, causing sparks to fly. The craftsman clamped the iron material and constantly adjusted the position and angle of the iron material under the hammer.

The iron material began to deform at a speed visible to the naked eye - this process was very fast, because the iron material presented to Chen Kai was not large. Originally, the iron material had been heated on the fire and changed color.

With constant hammering, the already relatively soft iron material gradually began to become thinner, and soon turned into an iron sheet-like object.

The craftsman adjusted the angle and position, and the iron piece gradually turned into an almost rectangular piece. At this time, after hammering for a while, the color of the iron piece began to recover, and the craftsman clipped it out of the iron felt and casually

Throw it into the basket and continue beating the next piece of iron.

This scene is just like what Chen Kai saw in the Chaozhou Manufacturing Bureau. The difference is minimal. However, just like his feelings back then, the iron material was rapidly deformed under the rapid forging of the hydraulic forging hammer and turned into what the blacksmith needed.

The shape is then thrown into the basket and sent by workers to other workshops for further processing. Although this is not yet an assembly line operation, Chen Kai's division of labor at the Nan'ao Ordnance Factory is still playing a role.

The speed of production is already beyond human reach.

The small car carrying the basket filled with small iron pieces left the workshop under the push of the workers. Chen Kai and his group followed the small car all the way down, watching every step that followed until

The last two workshops.

As soon as he entered the door, the worker moved the basket on the trolley to the young craftsman directly opposite the door. At this time, there were already four baskets in front of the young craftsman. When the new basket was delivered, he pointed at it casually, and the worker

He moved the basket on the far right onto the trolley and pushed it out of the workshop.

Chen Kai did not continue to leave. He only saw the young craftsman bringing a new basket from behind and placing it on his right hand. He picked up the iron piece in the basket in front of him with his left hand, and held a tool that looked like a vernier caliper in his right hand.

Using the tool, he pushed his thumb down, and the two inward notches of the ruler were stuck on the iron piece. He looked at it for a while, then released it again and stuck the other two side lengths again. After measuring the side lengths, he again

I measured the distance between the holes on the iron sheet. I shook my head subconsciously and threw it into the new basket on the right.

After throwing this away, he reached out again and picked up the next piece of iron. He still measured the side length and hole distance, but this time he nodded and threw it into the basket on the left.

Such back and forth work, soon, as an apprentice came and moved the basket on the left, Chen Kai did not continue to look at it, and turned out of the workshop and came to the final assembly workshop. At this time, from the previous workshop

The iron pieces pushed in have been polished by water grinding. After entering, the apprentices moved the basket in front of the master, and their master strung these pieces of armor into a real pair of armor with leather strips and ropes according to the customized specifications.

.

The craftsmen are very skilled in their skills. They pierce the leather strips or ropes and tie them tightly, so that the nail leaves become one piece. Chen Kai stood at the front of the crowd, quietly watching the craftsmen thread the nail leaves through them.

When I got up, I couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion.

In the history of the development of armor, a watershed has entered between the East and the West since the era of iron armor. In Europe, around the beginning of the Middle Ages, the impression given to later generations is that it has entered the age of plate armor, while in China, the bronze armor of the Shang and Zhou dynasties

, the Han Dynasty entered the era of iron armor.

Compared with Chinese armor, each part of European plate armor is forged from fixed-shaped iron armor, which looks stronger. In fact, before the Renaissance, it was truly like a humanoid tank, and it was enough to withstand most cold weapon attacks.

The plate armor is even rarer than the Mingguang Armor, which is known as the pinnacle of Chinese armor. It can only be owned by kings and a very small number of nobles. It has always been a treasure inherited by the family. The reason why it is rare is because of the limitations of the technical level at that time.

Only a handful of skilled craftsmen can make it with their experience and long hours of manufacturing.

Of course, other nobles during this period were not unable to own a set of plate armor, but it was often just a thin iron sheet with limited defensive capabilities and very expensive. Therefore, in the Middle Ages, ordinary nobles fought

People are often more accustomed to wearing chain armor because it is more cost-effective.

Since the Renaissance, smelting and forging technology has been improved, coupled with the use of machinery, real plate armor, which was only owned by the nobles in the past, has gradually become popular, but the price is still quite expensive, so expensive that a knight can purchase a complete set of equipment——

Plate armor, war horses, weapons and attendant equipment, if the family is not rich enough, it will often go bankrupt.

The collections in later museums are basically products of the Renaissance era. That era has passed, and the era of popularization of firearms has arrived. No matter how strong it is, expensive armor cannot withstand cheap lead bullets, so it will naturally be gradually replaced by firearms.

eliminated.

In fact, in China, there have been stronger armors, such as Mingguang Armor, Shanwen Armor and others, which have amazing defensive capabilities against cold weapons. However, the piercing armor seems to be relatively low-end, and is more popular in the military.

Popularized, in the Song Dynasty, the armor represented by Bu Renjia was very popular among the Song army, and even the Iron Pagoda of the Jin Dynasty was also affected by it. There were even more exaggerated cold-forged steel armors, according to "Mengxi Bi Tan"

According to the records, ordinary crossbows cannot penetrate the armor leaf in fifty steps, but the word "ordinary" here is compared to the divine arm bow, which shows its sturdiness.

By the Song Dynasty, Zhanjia had basically taken shape. A set of Zhanjia consisted of a hood, a collar, a breastplate, a shoulder, a belly, an arm, an arm, a belly, a skirt, and a mud lining. It almost covered all the soldiers.

Wrapped in iron armor. After the Song Dynasty, most of the armors looked like this, and they were even more simplified. Some of them were due to the decline in national financial resources.

By the Ming and Qing Dynasties, armor still existed in the army, but it was no longer popular. The most common infantry either had no armor or simply wore low-cost cotton armor with certain bulletproof capabilities. They were generally cavalry.

When worn, chain armor often takes away a lot of its share.

Today's Chinese battlefield is in a period of succession between hot and cold weapons, and we are in a hot and humid place in the south. When Chen Kai was in charge of the Ordnance Bureau, he paid far less attention to armor than weapons. This is because of the weapons in Fujian and Guangdong.

Weather, whether it is leather armor or cotton armor, there are only a few times when it can be put to use throughout the year. Most of the time, when soldiers put it on, they had to warm up and sweat first, not to mention fighting. At that time, most of the armor was captured and homemade.

Very few, and the most thoughtful piece of armor was the rattan helmet. When Feng Chengshi took charge of the Ordnance Bureau, he put some thought into the armor, but it didn't completely change.

Armor was eliminated by firearms, which was a choice of the times; the heat in South China was unbearable, and the northern army would choose to fight in the south in winter, early spring, or late autumn as much as possible. However, at such a time and in such a place, Chen Kai came up with

The large production capacity of the Foshan Manufacturing Branch and the Chaozhou Manufacturing Bureau, which are under construction, is used to produce piercing armor. It is inevitable that there is a desire to take the wrong approach.

Here, there is already completed armor placed on the shelf next to it. What he sees is very different from the armor of the Song Dynasty, but to him, there is not much difference, because he will not wear this.

Chen Kai walked closer, looked at it carefully, and then, in full view of everyone, he drew out the guard's saber and slashed it directly on the armor, causing sparks to fly out.

At this time, the smile on Chen Kai's face could no longer be concealed, and he immediately turned around and left, returning directly to the governor's office in Guangzhou. At this time, on the case in the official room, a letter from Li Dingguo was placed neatly there.
Chapter completed!