"You bastard, how many times have I told you this? Step with your left foot and swing with your right hand. Why are you so stupid?"
In the circle, Zuo Hua was training people, and his angry voice could be heard in the distance.
However, the person who was being scolded was still not convinced and his voice was not low.
"Then you can't hit people?"
Zuo Hua was even more explosive.
"How do I beat you? I'm telling you, you bastard, since you have become my soldier, I should beat you to death."
The man was not afraid.
"That's not what Qianzao said. I'll go find Qianzao to reason with you."
"Who is looking for me?"
There was no need for Zuo Menggen to look for him, he came in person.
The crowd immediately dispersed, and they saw Zuo Huazheng at war with a recruit. The recruit's face was covered in red and green, and a big slap mark made one cheek bulge.
Zuo Hua didn't expect Zuo Mengeng to come over and said hurriedly: "Master, I promise to train these guys well without you having to do anything."
Zuo Mengeng ignored him and walked up to the soldier. Looking at the miserable face, he couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.
"Does it hurt?"
The soldier screamed fiercely just now, but now he is cowardly. He lowers his head and his voice is like a mosquito.
"pain."
Zuo Mengeng continued to ask: "Why is your brigade beating you?"
Someone next to me helped.
"Wang Xiaoshuan couldn't walk straight forward all the time. The team was in a hurry, so they gave him a few blows. It's actually nothing. Why are you so squeamish?"
The unconvinced soldier's name was Wang Xiaoshuan. When he heard this, he became more unconvinced.
"Qianzao, you can say that everyone is equal, why can a large team beat me?"
Zuo Mengeng stopped him and asked, "How long have you been learning the goose step?"
Wang Xiaoshuan answered honestly.
"Study for seven days."
Zuo Mengeng raised his foot and hit his buttocks a few times.
"For seven days, you couldn't even tell right from left. Is it wrong to slap you?"
Wang Xiaoshuan was kicked and ran around, with tears in his eyes, but he did not dare to say anything.
Zuo Mengeng ignored him and looked at the supportive soldier.
"You... get out of the queue."
The man never thought that it would be his turn, so he walked out bravely.
"Name."
"Li Erxiao."
"Run ten laps around the school grounds and let's go!"
Li Erxiao was dumbfounded on the spot.
It's not Wang Xiaoshuan's and the brigade's fault, so why is he being punished?
"I spoke without permission, without any reason, without organization and discipline. Do you think I should be punished?"
Only then did Li Erxiao realize that it was because he was talking too much.
On the first day they joined the army, they were taught military discipline. But they just listened casually and no one paid attention.
No one expected that it would be implemented so strictly.
Not daring to look at Zuo Mengeng's dangerous eyes, Li Erxiao had no choice but to run away. At the same time, he had a memory in his heart and would never dare to talk too much in the future.
Zuo Mengeng finally looked at Zuo Hua.
"Apologies to Wang Xiaoshuan."
Zuo Hua was stunned and couldn't believe it.
"What?"
Wang Xiaoshuan was feeling sorry for himself, but when he heard this, he was frightened.
"Qianzao, no... no need, I... I have nothing to do."
Zuo Mengeng just stared at Zuo Hua.
"Everyone is equal in the military camp. This is the rule. If you hit someone for no reason, you must apologize."
Zuo Mengeng's eyes were so scary that Zuo Hua was a little frightened.
He found that it was okay when he was in the mansion, but once he arrived at the military camp, the young master was like a beast, extremely unkind.
He didn't dare to bet that Zuo Mengeng would let him go for the sake of love.
Then you have to obey orders.
He slowly moved to Wang Xiaoshuan, but it was always difficult to speak.
"What are you waiting for? Do you dare to hit someone but dare not apologize?"
Zuo Hua was forced into a corner and had to do what he was told.
"I'm sorry, how about... how about you call me back?"
How dare Wang Xiaoshuan attack the brigade? He waved his hands hastily, only to become even more confused.
"It's okay, it's okay, I'm stupid and I can't always learn."
Zuo Hua waited for Zuo Hua to apologize before Zuo Mengeng came up, speaking in a voice addressed to everyone.
"In my rear camp, it is strictly forbidden for any officer to physically punish soldiers for any reason. If anyone violates it, you can report it to me."
He looked at Zuo Hua again.
"If an idiot like Wang Xiaoshuan still can't learn, just hit his butt a few times. It's so thick that you can't even see it if you hit him. If it doesn't work, put him in solitary confinement. No matter how stupid you are, you can learn it.
"
The people in the surrounding circle looked at each other and thought to themselves, "Qianzao, don't you not allow corporal punishment of soldiers?"
But thinking about the way he kicked Wang Xiaoshuan just now, not only did he not feel that he was punishing the soldiers, but it actually made him feel more intimate.
For a moment, everyone burst into laughter, feeling that this Qianzuo was not so superior.
But when they thought of being placed in solitary confinement, everyone's expressions changed suddenly, including Wang Xiaoshuan's.
"Qianzao, we will definitely practice well."
There are countless cases of new army recruits being naughty and disobeying disciplines. In response to this situation, Zuo Mengeng created a solitary room.
Well, after all, everyone who came out after going in was extremely well-behaved.
This made other soldiers who had never been inside also feel scared. They were frightened when they heard about the solitary room.
Seeing the completely different atmosphere, Zuo Hua blushed and felt enlightened at the same time.
After Zuo Mengeng left, his face turned serious and his voice rose to the sky.
"Grandma, who told you to rest? Hurry up and line up and continue practicing."
After a beating and kicking, the soldiers finally lined up and began to study awkwardly again.
But the appearance of the entire brigade is completely different from before.
The refractory bricks were fired, and Yang Gui and others quickly built two smelting furnaces.
One is the furnace they use to make iron.
There is another one built according to Zuo Mengeng's request, but its purpose is currently unknown.
After learning the news, Zuo Mengeng went to Zhang Jimeng in person to get the iron materials and asked Yang Gui and others to smelt the iron according to the original method.
The only requirement is that Yang Gui and others first make a hollow iron pipe and a flat iron plate.
This is not difficult for Yang Gui and others.
After all, even the barrel of a musket can be made. An ordinary iron pipe is very easy.
What everyone is most concerned about is, can this new furnace really make steel?
The iron material is placed in, the furnace is ignited, and the coke is used. You can obviously feel that the heat dissipated in the furnace is different from before.
At the same time, the iron material in the furnace melts much faster than before, and the difference in color is more obvious.
After all the iron material turned into liquid, Yang Gui screamed in shock.
"It's molten steel, it's really molten steel!"
The other blacksmiths came up to observe, and all of them went crazy.
"Oh my god, you can really make steel!"
"Oh my God, there will be no shortage of steel from now on."
The actual results made the blacksmiths all excited and they immediately started working quickly.
The liquefaction effect of molten steel is much better than that of previous molten iron. It can be easily drawn out, wrapped in an iron truss and beaten repeatedly.
As the molten steel continues to cool and is hammered, it gradually takes shape, which is actually the preliminary barrel.
Looking at the work of the gunsmiths, Zuo Mengeng had to admire the craftsmanship of the craftsmen in this era.
Who would have thought that such a high-end device as a gun barrel could be hammered out by craftsmen?
He pointed to the waterway not far away: "The waterwheel will be ready for use after spring. Then the waterwheel will push a larger forging hammer, making it easier to make gun barrels."
The waterwheel Zuo Mengeng had built in advance could be used for both fetching water and driving it.
The craftsmen were astonished after understanding the working principle of the hydraulic forging hammer, and were even more impatient than he was.
However, the river is now frozen and the waterwheel cannot be driven.
The steel pipe was quickly made. Although it was still rough, it was enough for use.
So Zuo Mengeng took the steel pipe and the finished iron plate to another stove.
Here Yang Gui and others were still thinking about how to make a gun barrel, and they didn't know what Zuo Mengeng was doing.
The other furnace has now begun to warm up, and another group of craftsmen are guarding it.
However, this group of craftsmen were temporarily recruited from refugees and did not have basic skills.
But it doesn't matter. If you want to find craftsmen who can make glass in this era, there is no hope in the Ming Dynasty.
It would be better to find some refugees and train them yourself.
After a period of training, these refugees have been able to master the furnace temperature well.
Without a thermometer, Zuo Mengeng could only observe by feeling.
When he found that the furnace was almost warm, he asked the craftsmen to put sand and limestone into it.
In fact, in order to lower the melting point of refined glass, soda ash needs to be added to it.
However, Zuo Mengeng's knowledge of chemistry was all related to the military industry, and for a while he didn't find any tricks like soda ash.
He did know that the ashes burned after drying certain seaweeds contained alkali, which could be used to make the most primitive soda ash.
But this place is far away from the sea, and he has no way to do it.
Fortunately, there is a graphite crucible, which improves the durability of the furnace, and the limestone lowers the melting point of some glass, so it is barely usable.
The most important thing at the moment is whether the glass can be produced.
The remaining processes and technologies can only be added slowly in the future.