Chapter 84 Liu Futong sent an envoy to make Zhu Yuanzhang king!?
At that time, all the rebels, whether they were marshals, general managers, or grass-headed kings, all wanted to worship the Emperor of the Song Dynasty, ‘Zhao Lin’er’.
And he, Liu Futong, was the Prime Minister of the Song Dynasty, one man was inferior to ten thousand people.
Only in this way can the various rebel armies gather their strength to overthrow the Bao Yuan together.
"Don't worry, Generalissimo, I will send people to Bozhou to search for you right now!" Mr. Guan said.
"Don't be too anxious about this matter. Send more people to look for it quietly. Don't be too public. It will be bad if others find out." Liu Futong said cautiously.
Han Shantong's prestige among the Red Scarf Army and White Lotus sect is extremely high, and his son Han Lin'er is naturally also of considerable value.
In addition to Liu Futong, many others are also looking for Han Lin'er.
Everyone wants to use Han Lin'er as a big sign to call on all the rebels.
Liu Futong naturally did not want to be snatched away by others.
"Don't worry, Generalissimo, I will search for you quietly." Mr. Guan said seriously.
Liu Futong thought for a moment and then continued.
"Mr. Guan, I think it's best for you to go to Zhu Yuanzhang's place for me, so as to save others from ruining such a good thing."
Looking at the rebel armies from all walks of life, it can be said that except for Zhu Yuanzhang, no one else can have excess food to support themselves.
Liu Futong naturally attached great importance to it.
"No problem, then I will go there in person and meet this Zhu Yuanzhang!" Mr. Guan readily agreed.
Zhu Yuanzhang's rapid rise has already filled Guan Duo's heart with curiosity.
This monk from Longxing Temple conquered Haozhou as soon as he raised his army, then suffered a great defeat in Shayuan, then conquered Dingyuan, and then went south to eliminate the state.
These are all tough battles!
I really don’t know how Zhu Yuanzhang defeated the enemy so quickly.
Guan Duo has long wanted to see it with his own eyes.
After receiving Liu Futong's order, Guan Duo led a group of elite soldiers the next day and embarked on a journey south to eliminate the state.
Guan Duo and his party first went to Haozhou to meet with Marshal Guo Zixing and others of the capital of Haozhou, and then went south to Dingyuan to look for Zhu Yuanzhang.
As soon as they arrived at Haozhou City, Guo Zixing, Sun Deya and others warmly entertained Guan Duo and others.
At the banquet, Guan Duo keenly discovered that Guo Zixing, Sun Deya and others already had deep conflicts.
As Zhu Yuanzhang's father-in-law, Guan Duo immediately had concerns.
If Zhu Yuanzhang disobeys orders in the future, Guan Duo will have other plans in mind.
After leaving Haozhou, Guan Duo and his party arrived at Dingyuan.
As soon as they entered Dingyuan City, Guan Duo and others noticed that Dingyuan City was very different.
At present, the Red Turban Army's personnel are mixed, but their military discipline is also somewhat lax.
Every rebel who occupied the city wanted to drink and eat meat every day and be happy every day.
However, the rebel army in Dingyuan City was very different.
Not only were there no drunken and gambling soldiers on the streets, there were not even any idle soldiers.
Guan Duo couldn't help but admire the military discipline of the Dingyuan Rebel Army.
When he met Li Shanchang, who was staying in Dingyuan, Guan Duo actually felt ashamed of himself.
Guan Duo calls himself a wise general in the Red Scarf Army, which is different from those vulgar generals.
However, after a conversation with Li Shanchang, Guan Duo immediately realized that his knowledge was nothing compared to Li Shanchang.
The short two days in Dingyuan City shocked Guan Duo's heart.
He couldn't help but secretly thought: "This Zhu Yuanzhang is definitely not simple! He actually knows how to restrain his troops and win the hearts of the people. I have persuaded the generalissimo many times to restrain the military law and win the hearts of the people, but it has not had much effect. This Zhu Yuanzhang is very thoughtful!"
"Not only this Zhu Yuanzhang, but also his younger brother Zhu Han is not a simple person. Li Shanchang, who mentions Zhu Han in two of his three sentences, must be a powerful person."
During the two days of rest in Dingyuan, Guan Duo heard many rumors about Zhu Han.
From the well-known victory over Haozhou and Dingyuan among the Red Scarf Army, to the claim that the magic medicine in Dingyuan City could cure the plague, and finally, there are rumors that the assassination of Prime Minister Al Hui among the Tatars in Chuzhou seems to have been caused by Zhu Han
He and others sneaked into the city to do it.
After hearing these rumors, Guan Duo's impression of Zhu Han couldn't help but become a little confused.
"Damn it, is this Zhu Han a monster? He's capable of both literary and martial arts, knows medicine, soup, and needles, and he can also be a damn assassin. I have to see that he has three heads and six arms?"
Under the escort sent by Li Shanchang, Guan Duo and his party quickly arrived at Chuzhou City.
As soon as they entered the boundary of Chuzhou, Guan Duo and others were delighted again.
Except that the state is close to the south of the Yangtze River, the local water and soil already have the flavor of the south of the Yangtze River, which is very different from the drought-stricken Yingzhou area.
Many farmers in Yingzhou's farmland are busy harvesting, and those golden rice fields are the envy of Guan Duo and others.
With this food, Yingzhou's Red Scarf Army could not only survive the winter, but they might also be able to take the opportunity to launch an offensive and seize some more territory.
When they entered Chuzhou City, Guan Duo and others were shocked by the prosperity of the city.
Guan Duo and the others could no longer remember how long it had been since they had seen such a bustling and lively street scene.
"It seems that there is no problem with the food supply."
Guan Duo immediately felt confident.
Since Zhu Yuanzhang occupies such a good territory as Chuzhou, it is not as simple as joking to take out some food to honor the generalissimo.
Unexpectedly, after meeting Zhu Yuanzhang, Guan Duo's wishful thinking almost came to nothing.
Guan Duo was Liu Futong's envoy, so Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Han naturally took him very seriously.
After they received Li Shanchang's urgent letter, they immediately guessed the purpose of Guan Duo's visit.
They just want food, grass or gold and silver.
Regardless of whether it was food, grass, gold or silver, Zhu Han always advised his brother not to agree.
They don't have enough on their own right now, so how can they have any extra to support Liu Futong?
However, it would be unreasonable to give nothing.
After all, the main force of Liu Futong's Red Scarf Army was at the forefront of resisting the counterattack of the Mongolian and Yuan armies. Without them to withstand the thunder from the front, Zhu Yuanzhang and the others would not have been able to develop so smoothly.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Therefore, when the two brothers met Guan Duo, their attitude was very polite and respectful.
As soon as Guan Duo saw Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Han, he immediately made a judgment in his heart.
"These two brothers are not ordinary people. They have what the ancients said is a heroic spirit!"
Since he is a heroic figure, Guan Duo naturally deals with it carefully.
After some polite remarks, Guan Duo first made clear his purpose of visit.
He follows the principle of giving bad news first, then good news.
First, he stated the request of Generalissimo Liu Futong of the Yingzhou Red Scarf Army.
"Now the army is about to attack the Central Plains and strive to regain Kaifeng within half a year. Everything is ready and we only need the east wind. We need Marshal Du to support us with 200,000 shi of food and grass!" Guan Duo said.
When they heard this number, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Han were shocked even though they had been prepared for it.
"What, two hundred thousand stones?"
Zhu Yuanzhang almost jumped up and cursed.
Two hundred thousand dan can feed and drink an army of one hundred thousand for almost two months!
Zhu Yuanzhang's 70,000-strong army does not yet have so much food. Where can the remaining food come from to support Liu Futong of Yingzhou?
"Haha, two hundred thousand stones of food and grass is indeed a lot if it is in Yingzhou or Haozhou, but for Chuzhou, it shouldn't be much, right?" Guan Duo said with a smile.
Zhu Han immediately frowned and said: "Mr. Guan, you should have seen that there is no new food here except Zhou, and the original food and grass savings are far from enough for our army. If we support the generalissimo's food and grass, we will not refuse.
One can always squeeze out 10,000 to 20,000 shi with gritted teeth, but if it is 200,000 shi, even if our army does not eat or drink, they still cannot get it."
Brother Zhu Yuanzhang nodded beside him and followed.
"Mr. Guan, I'm not going to tell you any secrets. I really don't have any food. If you want gold and silver, I can give you some. If you convert it, you can buy a small hundred thousand grains."
After listening to what Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Han said, Mr. Guan's nose almost became crooked with anger.
In addition to the rice fields all over the city, he could clearly see how it was possible that he couldn't even get 200,000 shi of food.
As for the gold and silver treasures, Guan Duo felt even more unhappy.
He has determined that Zhu Yuanzhang and his two brothers are pretending to be stupid with him. Who doesn't know that there is a great disaster in the Central Plains and no one is selling food anywhere? Even if they have gold and silver, they can't buy much food.
"Marshal Zhu, we are both rebel brothers. We are as close as brothers. When we talk about money, we are talking about it. Now the generalissimo only needs food. Besides, this food is not borrowed in vain!" Guan Duo changed the topic and changed the subject.
Asking for food was replaced by borrowing food.
Although everyone knows that if this food is lent out, it will definitely not be returned.
"Oh, is there any other explanation?" Zhu Han asked curiously.
Zhu Han, as a time traveler, still has a great deal of recognition for Liu Futong and Guan Duo, the leading figures in the Red Turban Army.
If he could help them, Zhu Han would be very willing to do so without harming his own interests.
"To be honest, the Generalissimo was very happy to know that Marshal Zhu was going to Chuzhou again. He specially ordered me to come to Chuzhou and make Marshal Zhu the King of Chuyang!" Guan Duo said loudly.
"What, King Chuyang?"
When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he was stunned for a moment, and then he was overjoyed.
This is the title of king!
From ancient times to the present, it has been a great honor.
Zhu Yuanzhang thought that if he could be crowned a king, that would be a great deal. Within the territory of hundreds of miles, there were many marshals and generals of the rebel armies, but none of them would be crowned king.
King Yang, it is justifiable to give orders to the heroes. As for the two hundred thousand stones of food and grass, in fact, if you work hard to squeeze it out, it is not impossible to get it.
While Zhu Yuanzhang was thinking, he suddenly felt a pain in his foot.
The force was so strong that Zhu Yuanzhang's face twitched in pain and he stood up with a snap.
"no!"
Zhu Yuanzhang reacted quickly and immediately took the opportunity to shout.
Zhu Han misjudged the strength of the kick just now, and now he said it quickly.
"That's right, Mr. Guan, this is an unacceptable request. We will not agree to it!"
When Guan Duo heard this, he was extremely surprised.
He continued to ask in an incredulous tone.
"Marshal Zhu, this is the title of king, the king of Chuyang!"
Zhu Han was the first to say: "Mr. Guan, just because he is King Chu Yang, we cannot accept it. Our brothers are here to kill the Tatars and do justice for heaven, not to become kings and enjoy happiness. This King Chu Yang, my brother is absolutely
I won’t agree!”
My elder brother Zhu Yuanzhang also nodded immediately, "Yes, we will not be King Chuyang. This is the marshal."
Seeing that he was in trouble, Guan Duo had no other options. In the end, he had no choice but to go back to the posthouse to rest and prepare to think about countermeasures before starting again.
After Guan Duo left, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately pulled Zhu Han and asked.
"Brother, that's the King of Elimination and the title of King! Why not?"
Zhu Han smiled slightly and said, "Brother, don't you know that this Yang King has a price?"
"Two hundred thousand stones of food and grass is actually not a lot, and it's not like we can't get it out," Zhu Yuanzhang said.
"Brother, it is precisely because of these 200,000 stones of food and grass that the King of Yang Chu cannot have it!" Zhu Han said.
Zhu Yuanzhang was immediately confused and asked quickly: "What does this mean? Tell us quickly!"
Zhu Han then said: "Let's not talk about the two hundred thousand stones of food and grass, but let's talk about the title of King Yang, it is a big pit!"
"What a big pit!?"
"Now Meng Yuan has begun to organize various regiments to train troops to counterattack the rebels. The real bloody battle has just begun. With so many rebels, Meng Yuan is worried about where to start first. In the end, he will definitely hit the one with the loudest name first. Who
If you dare to claim the throne, you will never be able to escape."
"The first rafter will die first!" Zhu Yuanzhang understood immediately.
"Yes, that's the truth. Brother, we must keep three sentences in mind for our future strategies!" Zhu Han said very seriously.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "What three sentences?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked immediately.
"Build walls high, accumulate grain widely, and become king slowly!" Zhu Han said with a serious face.
To describe it in one sentence, the anti-Yuan situation will become increasingly difficult in the future.
Although the behemoth Bao Yuan will die in the end, his various counterattack methods before death are quite powerful.
Anyone who suffers major damage will definitely pay a heavy price.
"Build the wall high, accumulate food widely, and slowly become king?"
The more my brother Zhu Yuanzhang thinks about these three sentences, the more reasonable he feels.
Finally, he slapped his thigh and said with great emotion.
"These three sentences are so right. The most important thing is to take care of ourselves first. The name of King of Yang is just a bullshit title!"
"Haha, brother, you are so right. When we are strong, there will be no need for Liu Futong to confer the title of "King of Elimination of Yang". You can be whatever king you want to be. Wouldn't it be more beautiful?" Zhu Han said with a smile.
"It makes sense. It's in our hearts. Then I'll send someone to send Guan Duo back to save him from making noise again!" Marshal Zhu said.
Regarding this method, Zhu Han went on to say.
"However, we are all rebels. If we don't help them at all, it would be unjustifiable both emotionally and rationally."
"Brother, how are you going to help?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked.
"Since Liu Futong is short of food, let's help him get some food and it will be ready soon," Zhu Han said.
Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang was immediately confused.
"Didn't you just say that you want to accumulate grain extensively, why don't you spend the 200,000 shi of grain?" Brother Zhu Yuanzhang asked.
"Brother, I said I was helping Liu Futong raise grain, but I didn't say I was collecting grain here in Chuzhou." Zhu Han said with a smile.
"Then what does this mean?"
"Although there was a major disaster and food shortage in Henan, the cities and fortresses occupied by the Yuan army had already plundered sufficient food and grass. If the rebels could quickly break through several cities and prevent the Yuan army from burning the food and grass warehouses, they would be able to seize many of them.
We are short of food." Zhu Han said.
"This makes sense. What should we do specifically?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked quickly.
The Red Scarf Army fought in the Central Plains of Henan. Except for the battles involving internal support in the city, they all relied on brute force to attack. In addition to serious casualties, they often gave the Yuan army in the city enough time to burn the grain and grass treasury before the city fell.
"Support Liu Fu with a batch of new gunpowder, and then send people to teach them hole attack and blasting!" Zhu Han said.
Who would have known that when these words came out, Zhu Yuanzhang's reaction was even greater than when he heard about two hundred thousand shi of grain!
Brother Zhu Yuanzhang stood up suddenly and waved his hands vigorously.
"This is not okay!"
"Brother, this is our secret skill, how can we teach it to others?"
It was precisely because of the hole attack and blasting method that Zhu Yuanzhang led the rebel army to conquer Haozhou and Dingyuan in only three days. Such a rapid attack could hardly be stopped by any fortified city.
In the Central Plains of Henan, the soil there is more suitable for digging tunnels, and is more suitable for tunnel blasting than here in Huaixi.
"Brother, there is never any invincible tactic. Our acupoint attack and blasting technique can be used all over the world. If the Tatars figure it out in the future and use it for raids, it will definitely not be so effective. It is better to teach Liu Futong earlier.
Let them make a louder noise, and the more violent they make, the greater the loss will be to Meng Yuan, and the safer we will be," Zhu Han said.
The power of hole attack blasting is indeed huge, but if the defenders intercept it earlier with tunnels, the effect of surprise victory will be greatly reduced.
Rather than holding this tactic in hand until it becomes outdated, it would be better to let Liu Futong use it to harm the Mongolian and Yuan Dynasty early.
After Zhu Han's persuasion, his elder brother Zhu Yuanzhang finally agreed.
As for who should be appointed as the master of this hole attack and blasting, it is naturally Zhou Dexing. Hu Yiba's status as a tomb robber is too bad, and he will be easily looked down upon.
When Zhou Dexing learned about this order, as expected, he immediately became excited.
"Marshal, I don't like this!"
"This is our top secret, how can we teach it to others?"
"Even if I resist military orders, I won't listen!"
Facing Zhou Dexing's stubbornness, Zhu Yuanzhang was a little bit dumbfounded.
Zhou Dexing, who has the title of Demolition Maniac, has already been prepared to guard top secrets for the rest of his life.
Now it's good, the Zhu Han brothers actually asked him to teach Liu Futong?
It was simply worse than killing him.
However, after Zhu Han's persuasion, Zhou Dexing finally changed his mind.
"Brother Zhou, after we conquer Chuzhou, we won't have the chance to use acupoint blasting for a long time. Aren't you afraid that your skills will be wasted?"
"We might as well take this opportunity to conquer more Tatar cities, kill more Tatars, and practice our skills more."
"When the time comes, wouldn't it be better if you teach Liu Futong and the others their old skills, and then you can come up with a better method through actual combat?"
Faced with Zhu Han's clever tongue, Zhou Dexing was naturally unable to resist.
After all, this acupuncture blasting method was given to him by Zhu Han, and Zhou Dexing would not accept death too much.
When he saw Guan Duo again the next day, Zhu Yuanzhang told Guan Duo about the matter.
"What, Marshal Zhu wants to give me the method of quickly breaking through the city wall?" Guan Duo was greatly surprised when he heard this.
These days, even if you are a carpenter with some skills, you keep them hidden, hoping that you will pass them on to men instead of women, and no man will be brought into the coffin.
Zhu Yuanzhang was lucky enough to show off his unique stunt, which surprised Guan Duo.
"Yes, if the generalissimo can have this method, he will definitely be able to occupy a few more cities and seize a large amount of food and grass. Otherwise, we can't get the food and grass and we can't be of much help. I feel very sorry!" Zhu Yuanzhang said.
When Guan Duo saw this, he thought to himself: Zhu Yuanzhang still has some conscience as a fellow rebel. He thought of several poisonous plots last night, so I won't use them on you for the time being.
"In this case, let's go and see it quickly, okay?" Guan Duo said immediately.
Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at Zhu Han next to him.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Zhu Han smiled slightly, nodded and said.
"Brother, Mr. Guan, I have ordered people to be ready. You can go and see him at any time!"
"Haha, okay, go quickly, go quickly!" Guan Duo was already impatient.
An hour later.
In addition to the school grounds outside the city.
boom!
With a roar, a thick cloud of dust shot straight into the sky.
When the dust settled, a huge gap had been opened in a section of the city wall.
"Mr. Guan, how are you?" Zhu Han asked with a smile.
Guan Duo did not make any answer.
He was already stunned by the scene in front of him.
Even if the hole blasting just now was just a demonstration, it cannot be compared with actual combat in terms of distance or power.
However, just this has already made Guan Duo feel the destructive power.
With this point attack and blasting method, no wonder Zhu Yuanzhang was able to defeat Haozhou in three days and Dingyuan in four days!
As long as a tunnel is dug and the gunpowder is released, a section of the city wall will completely collapse.
With such terrifying power, how can there be any city that can match the hundreds of thousands of Red Scarf Army troops!
As long as there is no city wall to block them, Liu Futong's Red Scarf Army will seize whichever city they want.
There is no need to worry about the lack of food, grass and baggage. It is enough to quickly attack a city and then rob the food, grass and baggage inside.
Unless the Mongolian and Yuan troops saw the Red Turban troops approaching the city, they immediately burned the grain and grass warehouses.
Otherwise, as long as the Red Scarf Army is given two or three days, once the hole attack breaks through the city wall, it will be too late for the dog Tatars to burn down the grain and grass warehouses.
"Mr. Guan, Mr. Guan?"
"Mr. Guan?"
Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Han yelled several times before Guan Duo finally came back to his senses.
"Ah, oh, Guan is so rude, so rude!"
Guan Duo immediately apologized very politely, and then asked in disbelief.
"Marshal Zhu, do you really want to leave this acupoint blasting technique to me?"
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, "Yes, we have demonstrated it just now, so naturally we want to teach it to Mr.
When Guan Duo heard this, he was so moved that his eyes glowed red. He secretly hated himself in his heart. He was still thinking about some bullshit last night. He was so sorry for the loyal brother Zhu Yuanzhang!
The ancients once said that it is better to teach a man to fish than to teach him to fish.
With this hole attack and blasting method, it is much more important than two hundred thousand stones of food.
Two hundred thousand stones of food can always be eaten, and with this cave attack and blasting method, you can get as much food and grass as you want.
Guan Duo immediately asked: "Marshal Zhu, how do you choose where to dig tunnels for this hole blasting, how do you consolidate the tunnels, how do you standardize the direction, how do you bury gunpowder, how do you lay leads..."
Guan Duo asked a lot of questions in a barrage of questions.
As soon as Zhu Han saw it, he knew that Mr. Guan was really interested. Every question was asked on the key points.
These professional issues are indeed a bit difficult for my brother Zhu Yuanzhang.
Zhu Han stood up to the rescue and said, "Mr. Guan, you can learn these things in actual combat when you go back."
When Guan Duo heard this, he was immediately surprised again.
"Does the deputy marshal want to send someone to teach me?"
Zhu Han nodded and pointed at Zhou Dexing next to him.
"This is our old brother Zhou Dexing who raised the army. When it comes to this hole attack and blasting, Brother Zhou would say he is second. No one dares to say he is first!"
When Guan Duo heard this, he immediately looked at Zhou Dexing as if he were looking at a treasure.
He grabbed Zhou Dexing's arm, as if he was afraid that he would run away.
"Brother Zhou, I, Lao Guan, will eat and sleep with you today. I can't let you run away!"
Zhou Dexing enjoyed such a serious attitude. Anyway, Zhu Han had already told him that he would teach Zhou Dexing better and more powerful siege methods in the future. His current task was to follow Guan Duo to Liu Futong's army.
Help Liu Futong create an engineering team specifically to harm the Mongolian and Yuan Dynasties in the north.
In history, Liu Futong traveled around Henan for several years before finally conquering some important cities.
Important cities such as Bianliang were not conquered until five or six years after the uprising.
Zhu Han just wanted to help Liu Futong and make the Northern Red Scarf Army more powerful, the better.
The greater the momentum of the Red Scarf Army, the safer they will be in Chuzhou.
As the demolition maniac Zhou Dexing followed Guan Duo and his party to Yingzhou, Zhu Han and his elder brother Zhu Yuanzhang also adhered to the line of "build high walls, accumulate grain and slowly become king" in Zhuzhou.
As the saying goes, warriors are the best city walls. The first step is to train soldiers and horses.
Brother Zhu Yuanzhang led Xu Da and others to train the main force according to the old method.
Zhu Han led Lu Zhongheng, Hu Yiba, Chen Baodao and others to train more than 3,000 new troops.
It is said that he is training the new army, but Zhu Han has not been going to the school grounds every day recently, but has been spending all day in the newly established workshop.
From the recent sign-in rewards, Zhu Han received some of the most critical technical books, which can be used to solve the difficulty of manufacturing guns and artillery.
He now stares at the weapons workshop every day, just to be able to make qualified muskets and artillery as soon as possible.
After many days of cyclic testing, Chuzhou Workshop finally produced qualified gun metal.
This specialized bronze can create the most powerful muzzleloader artillery.
Because of the high price of copper and the scarcity of raw materials, in order to cast bronze cannons, Zhu Han purchased almost all the bronze wares in the city except Zhouzhou, and finally managed to scrape together enough raw materials to cast ten cannons.
After some comparisons, Zhu Han made the final allocation plan for casting artillery.
As soon as he arrived at the weapons workshop, he immediately found the workshop craftsman.
"Deputy Commander, what are your orders?" an honest and honest middle-aged craftsman asked as he entered the door.
Zhu Han's current position is still the Secretary of the Marshal's Office, but everyone likes to call him Deputy Marshal. After several attempts to change it to no avail, they just let it go.
"Zheng Kruu, this is the artillery casting plan I made. You can make it according to the above." Zhu Han took out a stack of drawings and handed them to the middle-aged craftsman.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! The weapons workshop in front of you, also known as the chief craftsman, was originally a craftsman household of the Mongolian and Yuan Dynasty in Chuzhou, specializing in casting Buddhist bells and other things.
According to the principle, if you can cast a large bronze bell, you have mastered the technology of casting bronze cannons.
Therefore, Zhu Han promoted this craftsman named Zheng Qiwu without hesitation.
He also gave him an auspicious new name Zheng Kruu.
With a generous salary of three taels of silver and three hundred kilograms of rice per month, Zheng Kruu and other craftsmen worked hard.
"Two ten-pound cannons, three eight-pound cannons, five three-pound cannons, artillery carts..."
Zheng Kruu can understand simple words, which is also an important reason why he can serve as a craftsman.
"How's it going? Do you have any questions?" Zhu Han asked from the side.
These drawings of muzzle-loading artillery are all taken from the 12-pounder, 9-pounder and 3-pounder cannons that have experienced actual combat in later generations.
The so-called pounds or kilograms are calculated based on the weight of the solid bullet fired. The higher the weight, the greater the power of the artillery, and the higher the cost.
"Sir, if you think there is no problem, you can start casting at any time!" Zheng Kruu said with great confidence.
Now in the weapons workshop, the iron mold for casting the copper cannon has already been prepared. All you need to do is melt the copper water and then cast it, which saves more than half the time compared to the original clay mold cannon casting.
Zhu Han repeatedly came up with all kinds of fantastic methods, which had already made Zheng Kruu and others regard him as a god-like figure.
What's more, the wages and rations given to them by the rebels were very generous, which was much better than working as slave craftsmen under the Mongols, so they naturally worked hard and devoted themselves.
In just three days, a total of ten artillery pieces were cast.
The remaining work is to polish the inner wall of the gun so that it is smooth and free of obstructions.
Craftsmen such as Zheng Kruu originally used small human-powered machines to polish the inner walls.
After Zhu Han saw this, he decisively ordered tens of thousands of kilograms of pig iron to be used to build a simple boring machine using hydraulic power, which immediately greatly improved efficiency.
In just half a month, all ten artillery pieces were produced.
However, compared to artillery, the manufacture of muskets is more difficult.
Muskets must use steel. It is much more difficult to make a qualified barrel.
Zhu Han provided many improvements, but the scrap rate of muskets is still as high as 60-70%.
This results in huge costs and poor results.
When all ten cannons were cast, less than 500 muskets were produced at a greater cost.