Since Jin Feng returned from the East China Sea, Xihewan has returned to its previous busy and peaceful days.
Regardless of the people in the village, the female workers who came to work from other villages, or the traders who came from various places to purchase goods, their faces were all filled with smiles and full of good expectations for the future life.
But as the war horses galloped out of the village, the atmosphere in the village quickly became solemn.
All the villagers realized that something big had happened.
In addition, Jin Feng did not issue a hush-hush order, and the news that Hai Dongqing restrained the airship gradually spread in the village.
Even ordinary villagers are aware of the seriousness of this matter.
But this time the villagers did not panic.
Because they knew that Jin Feng was in the village.
In the hearts of the villagers, as long as Jin Feng is around, there is nothing to fear!
Jin Feng no longer dealt with government affairs these days. Instead, he led Wan Heming and Zuo Zhiyuan into the laboratory.
The airship can no longer be used, and the war horse is too slow in the mountains. Jin Feng must find a way to make up for this shortcoming as soon as possible.
The Sichuan-Sichuan water system is developed, and the Yangtze River runs through the entire Dakang, so steam boats have become the best choice.
No one understands the importance of power engines to industry better than Jin Feng. After returning from the East China Sea, although Jin Feng did not fully participate in the improvement of steam engines, he has always paid attention to it.
When Wan Heming and Zuo Zhiyuan encountered difficulties, Jin Feng would also give them guidance.
For this reason, Jin Feng also asked the village chief to lead people to build a new factory building in the iron smelting workshop, specifically used as a steam engine workshop.
Unfortunately, the village has been too busy recently. There are too many factories waiting for construction teams to start construction, and the steam engine workshop has not started yet.
Now that the airship can no longer be used, the priority of the steam engine workshop has suddenly been raised.
The village chief immediately stopped half of the construction sites in the village and brought workers to repair the steam engine workshop. He also ensured the supply of all building materials to this workshop first.
In the laboratory, Jin Feng also asked Wan Heming to take out all the production drawings of the steam engine and work overtime to optimize the production process.
The village's transport team was also operating at full capacity, with horse-drawn carriages pulling stocked steam engine parts towards Jinchuan Wharf.
Some time ago, the shipyard previously acquired by Jin Feng built another large ship and it has been delivered to the dock.
The steam engine parts are sent over and assembled on the ship, and the second steam ship can be anchored.
In addition to the construction team and iron smelting workshop, Jinchuan Daily is also working overtime.
On the fourth day after Xu Jiuge came back, the news that Jin Feng was going to establish the Second Army of Zhenyuan spread to all parts of Guangyuan through Jinchuan Daily.
In the past, what the people of Dakang feared most was conscription, because not only would they be deprived of food and salary, but they would also suffer a high casualty rate if they joined the army.
However, the Zhenyuan Escort Bureau and the Zhenyuan Army never deducted military pay, food, and wages, and their remuneration was much higher than that of government officials. In addition, in order to enhance the status of soldiers, Jin Feng formulated many laws for preferential treatment of soldiers.
Coupled with the deliberate guidance of Jinchuan Daily and Jinchuan Song and Dance Troupe, the image of Zhenyuan Escort Bureau and Zhenyuan Army has become better and better, and the status of soldiers has become higher and higher.
Although the Zhenyuan Army is not as famous as the Zhenyuan Escort Bureau, it is still one of the important combat forces under Jin Feng.
Chen Wenyuan thought that as long as he published the news in the newspaper that the Zhenyuan Army was recruiting people, there would be countless applicants.
But it turned out that he was wrong.
Nowadays, the work-for-relief program is still continuing. The money earned by the people in Sichuan and Sichuan on the construction sites is enough to support their families. Who is willing to leave their hometown to fight?
There was no other way, so Chen Wenyuan had no choice but to ask Jin Feng for instructions.
Jin Feng thought over and over again and did not make a decision easily. Instead, he sent someone to find Ninth Princess, Zhang Liang, Tie Shixin and others to hold a small meeting.
"This is the situation. Is there anything you can do?" Jin Feng asked after introducing the situation.
"I recommend reinstating the draft!"
Zhang Liang, who has always had no sense of presence, was the first to speak this time: "Since ancient times, it has been the unshirkable responsibility of the people to fight for the king. And sir, you once said that without a country, there is no home. Defending Sichuan and Shu is to protect Sichuan and Shu."
To defend the homes of all Sichuan and Shu people, they should and must go!"
"I agree!"
The Ninth Princess was afraid that Jin Feng would reject Zhang Liang's proposal, so as soon as Zhang Liang finished speaking, she expressed her support.
Tie Shixin looked at Jin Feng, then at Ninth Princess and Zhang Liang, lowered his head and said nothing.
In fact, he also agreed with the suggestions of the Ninth Princess and Zhang Liang, but when he was sorting out previous documents, he saw more than once that someone proposed to resume conscription, but without exception, Jin Feng denied it.
So Tie Shixin knew that Jin Feng was against forced conscription.
The Ninth Princess was Jin Feng's bedfellow, and Zhang Liang had been with him through life and death when Jin Feng was in his last days. Their status in Jin Feng's heart was unmatched by Tie Shixin's.
So Ninth Princess and Zhang Liang dared to go against Jin Feng, but Tie Shixin did not.
Just when Tie Shixin thought Jin Feng would object, he found that Jin Feng turned to look at him: "Master Tie, what do you think?"
Tie Shixin did not expect that Jin Feng would take the initiative to ask for his opinion. His eyelids twitched involuntarily and his heart felt bitter.
In Tie Shixin's view, Jin Feng was preparing to oppose the opinions of the Ninth Princess and Zhang Liang, but he couldn't save face and was ready to take action on himself.
Or maybe Jin Feng planned to let himself put forward different opinions from Zhang Liang in order to refute the Ninth Princess and Zhang Liang?
In just a short moment, many thoughts flashed through Tie Shixin's mind.
A few seconds later, Tie Shixin made a decision, clasped his fists at Jin Feng and said, "I believe that what your Majesty and General Zhang said is reasonable!"
After listening to this, Jin Feng did not object or agree, but said in a questioning tone: "Oh?"
The small word "oh" almost made Tie Shixin break into a cold sweat.
But now that he had given his answer, Tie Shixin could no longer change his hands and explained: "I know that you care about the people and do not want to forcefully recruit. In the past, we didn't need so many soldiers, but now we need a large number of soldiers, sir.
I can’t be soft-hearted anymore!”
After saying that, he lowered his head and did not dare to look at Jin Feng.
Tie Shixin was already prepared to be reprimanded by Jin Feng, but Jin Feng did not reprimand him. Instead, he stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder, saying: "Master Tie, don't be nervous, I don't eat people!"
Hearing what Jin Feng said, Tie Shixin let out a long sigh of relief.
Jin Feng spoke to him like this, which showed that he was really not angry.
In fact, this is also a small test for Jin Feng against Tie Shixin.
Because the current situation has become very obvious, conscription is necessary to make resistance possible.
If Tie Shixin can't even see this, it means that his ability is not enough to be cultivated.
If he saw it, but deliberately refuted Zhang Liang's proposal in order to cater to Jin Feng, it would mean that Tie Shixin did not put the government affairs of Sichuan and Shu first, but put flattering first.