The heavy rain continued for two days, and the sky finally cleared up. The city of Beiping seemed to have been ransacked, and everything was in a mess. The city walls that had not been reinforced in time collapsed in pieces, not only blocking the moat outside the city, but also pressing down on it. Many residential buildings located near the city wall were damaged. Fortunately, no one lived in these residential buildings, otherwise lives would have been lost.
Facing this earthen city wall that was like tofu, Wan Lei was completely speechless. To be honest, the Yuan Dynasty was really happy when they built Dadu, as long as they didn't care about face. The city was planned very big, and the city walls were piled high, but they were all It is a piece of soil and cannot stand the test at all. Fortunately, the Peking Army is no longer what it used to be. Otherwise, if the enemy invades, the city of Peking will really not be able to defend it.
The old method of the Song Dynasty was used in the construction of the city wall in Beiping, that is, permanent wood was first installed in the wall, then horizontal wood was added, and then earth was rammed. Since the city wall was made of rammed earth, it was easily washed away by rain once it rained. soaking, leading to collapse.
At the beginning of the construction of the city, the Yuan Dynasty thought of covering it with bricks and stones, but gave up due to lack of financial resources. Later, the Yuan Dynasty specially dispatched troops to harvest reeds and weave reed mats. Every summer, the city walls were covered with reed mats. It is called "Weicheng" to prevent rain. This is like putting a raincoat on the city wall, which is ridiculous even thinking about it.
In the late Yuan Dynasty, when the world was in turmoil, Emperor Yuan was afraid that the revolted people would set fire to the reed mats, so even the "Reed City" project was stopped. Instead, civilians were temporarily recruited to repair the walls whenever the walls became loose and collapsed. After the Ming army conquered Peking, although they did some Repair, but these walls have been standing for hundreds of years, and the wood inside has long been rotten, and they will collapse if it rains heavily.
After the rain, Tie Xuan sent someone to count the length of the collapsed city walls so that he could organize manpower to repair them. After counting, he found that the total length of the collapsed city walls was several thousand meters long. It was very difficult to repair it with the existing manpower and material resources. For this reason, He hurriedly sent someone to invite Wan Lei and asked Wan Lei to make up his mind.
Wan Lei also had a headache due to the collapse of the city wall. Although the city wall had been overhauled a few months ago, the progress of the project was slow. It took a month to build the southern city wall. Most of the other three city walls were still soil walls, so there was a large-scale accident. Collapse.
Most of the collapsed city walls were on the east side. Due to having experienced many wars, the east city wall had long been overwhelmed. From Qihua Gate to Chongren Gate, a large gap of 500 to 600 meters was opened. Not only the city wall It has turned into a mound, and even the moat has been filled in. If a strong enemy invades at this time, there is really no way to defend the city.
"Master Tie, how much available force is there now?" Wan Lei asked with a frown after inspecting the collapsed city wall.
"There are more than 7,000 captives, 4,000 are mining in the mining area, 1,000 are repairing the river dam, and only 2,000 can be mobilized." Tie Xuan frowned. He naturally knew that the only way to build the city wall now was through those prisoners. , because the citizens of Shuntian Prefecture are not required to perform labor service. If they are to be expropriated, they will not only have to prepare rations, but also pay wages. However, Shuntian Prefecture is financially strapped and cannot spare additional funds to pay for this expense.
"Too few manpower." Wan Lei shook his head, closed his eyes and thought for a while, then said: "Don't rush to build the wall now, set up a barbed wire fence outside the city wall to temporarily block it, and then rebuild it when the weather clears. By the way, give it to the Military Commission Send a notice over there, asking them to shrink their strategy and focus on returning to defend Beiping City."
"If we set up a barbed wire fence, can it stop the enemy from invading?"
"Pull up a few layers to temporarily slow down the enemy's cavalry charge, but the iron smelting plant will have to consume molten iron." Wan Lei also frowned. Originally, the iron smelting plant was not operating enough and the output was limited. Now it has to be
If the product is used for city defense, it will be even more unprofitable.
"Master Tie, the city wall has collapsed too much. There is no way to repair it now, so this is the only way." said a subordinate who was accompanying him and was responsible for the construction of the city wall.
"Okay, let's pull up the barbed wire first and then build the city wall." Tie Xuan made up his mind and assigned the tasks. The accompanying officials quickly left and went about their own business. After all his colleagues had finished leaving, Tie Xuan started again.
Frowning, he asked Wan Lei: "My dear nephew, I heard from the ironworks that you asked the ironworks to cast sixty new cannons. What's the use?"
As the head of the administration, Tie Xuan knew exactly how many artillery pieces had been cast since the establishment of the iron factory and where they were used. Only this time he did not know about it, so he had this question. Of course, there was something Tie Xuan didn’t know.
There are many more, such as the secret alliance with Mrs. Liu.
"Master Tie, we will discuss this matter in detail when we return to your residence." Wan Lei was also in a dilemma about how to explain this matter to Tie Xuan. After all, these artillery pieces were sold for takeout, which was no different from arms smuggling, and Mrs. Liu's group
They are also very evil. It is not good to publicize your alliance with these people, otherwise it will ruin your reputation.
"My dear nephew, you are working day and night for our Shuntian Mansion, so you should find some helpers to share the important tasks." On the way back, Tie Xuan suddenly advised.
"I have helpers. My wife is a good housekeeper, and there are several capable people around me. They can not only protect my safety, but also serve as assistants. I have a lot more leisure now." Wan Lei said with a smile.
"What kind of leisure time? You are just a hands-off uncle now, instructing our fellow apprentices and brothers to do whatever they want, but you are enjoying the benefits yourself." Zhao Xueer, who was accompanying me for protection, said dissatisfiedly.
"Knowing and doing are one. How can they learn true knowledge if they don't practice it?" Wan Lei smiled awkwardly. Indeed, he was really suspected of being a scumbag. A lot of his research was just sketches and explanations of some principles.
Next, let the other people do their own research. As for the research results, they belong to him of course. Fortunately, those people came with the purpose of studying, otherwise he would be said to be a bastard.
"Since my nephew's students are so busy, why not find some assistants?" Tie Xuan said again.
"It's hard to find assistants. There are too few students who are willing to study hard and are willing to do it themselves." Wan Lei sighed. Why didn't he want to find more assistants? It would be better to form a private research institute. But apart from those few small paths
Other than that, others are not very trustworthy. After all, people are very different from each other, and there is no guarantee that someone will come to steal the master's skills and then sell them to the court to gain wealth. This must be guarded against.
"Haha, I do have a perfect candidate. I wonder if my nephew is willing to try it out." Tie Xuan asked with a smile.
"Oh, Mr. Tie has a keen eye for talents, and the talent he likes must be good." Wan Lei said this, but he was very bright in his heart: This old guy wants to put someone in to steal his skills.
"I have a niece who is very active by nature and wants to understand everything she sees. If my nephew doesn't think she is stupid, can I let her run errands with her and gain more knowledge?" Tie Xuan asked tentatively.
"Um..." Wan Lei frowned. He knew who the niece Tie Xuan was talking about, and he also knew that his niece had great ambitions. She could even be said to be a drunkard who didn't care about drinking. If he really kept her by his side,
You may not be able to figure out what went wrong in the future.
"I'll try it out for a few days. If it doesn't work, it's okay to quit." Tie Xuan said again.
"Master Tie recommends me so earnestly for my own sake. How can I reject this good intention? It's just that your little girl seems to be studying in the Women's Normal College and she is suddenly transferred here. This is not good," Wan Lei said. He knew that Tie
The adults have already spoken. If you refuse categorically, you will not give face. You will inevitably feel uncomfortable in the future.
"It's no problem. I'll find someone to make up for it, and ask my niece to help her make up for the missed courses. It won't affect the education plan."
"That's great, but I have to work hard for her." Everyone said this, and Wan Lei couldn't refuse. After all, he had to engage in secret operations with Tie Xuan regarding the smuggling of artillery. The so-called reciprocation of love, this time selling
With Tie Xuan's face, the matter of smuggling arms will be much easier to discuss.