Chapter seven hundred and thirty second craftsmen gather
The young man listens to the rain song upstairs, the red candles dim the tent. The mature man listens to the rain in the boat, the river is wide and the clouds are low, and the broken geese call in the west wind.
Now, listening to the rain at the foot of the monk's hut, there are stars on the temples. Joys and sorrows are always ruthless, and every step of the way, every drop will last till dawn.
——"Poppy Listening to the Rain" by Jiang Jie (Song Dynasty)
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Different from the previous emperors who viewed craftsmanship as "strange and obscene skills", Bai Fu believed that craftsmanship was related to the national power of the Tang Dynasty, no less than farming, salt and iron, trade, etc.
Bai Fu raised the craftsmen to the level of scholars of the Tang Dynasty, valued and respected them.
Under Bai Fu's operation, as soon as Ma Daifeng arrived in Chang'an, he received an imperial edict and was granted the title of Shaofu Shaojian from the fourth rank. Another skilled craftsman recommended by Ma Daifeng, Cui Yiling Li Jin, was granted the title.
He is a doctor of the Ministry of War who is from the fifth rank;
Disciples of Ma Daifeng's sect were granted titles such as the sixth-rank military officer Wailang, the first-class military officer and military officer who was exiled from abroad, and the second-class military officer and military officer who was exiled from abroad according to their ability.
Although many important officials in the imperial court sneered at this, since Bai Fu did not expand military power and did not interfere with financial power, there was no direct conflict of interest with the important officials in the imperial court. Therefore, the officials ignored the matter and were happy to see Bai Fu.
What a joke. Even the Yushitai, which used to be the most trouble-making, has ceased its activities and there is no impeachment memorial.
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As the saying goes, if you are thirsty for talents, you will buy bones with a lot of gold.
Bai Fu's respect for the craftsmen led a large number of skilled craftsmen living among the people to travel thousands of miles to Chang'an. They all asked to join the Ministry of War and defected to Bai Fu's command.
A woodcarving craftsman named Han Zhi can not only make wooden luan, wooden crane, wooden crow, and wooden magpie, he can also install machine yellow on the bird's body to make it peck and sing, just like real birds.
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What's even more amazing is that after pressing the mechanism in the bird's belly, these birds can flap their wings and fly, reaching a height of more than one hundred feet and a distance of one to two hundred steps.
The wooden cats made by Han Zhi can even catch birds and mice. Such magical skills are simply unbelievable.
During the Wu Zhao Dynasty, Yang Suo, a descendant of the great craftsman Yang Wulian, also came to apply for the job. After Yang Wulian's death, the Yang family fell into decline, and Yang Suo could only make a living by relying on the crafts passed down from his family.
The first pot of gold Yang Suo earned was alms-making puppets: he made a life-size puppet, dressed up as a monk, shaved an eye-catching bald head, wore silk clothes and mango shoes, and held an alms bowl.
The monk puppet can walk along the street to ask for alms on its own, and will also bow to the donor of alms.
This fresh monk puppet caused the people of Chang'an to rush to watch it and put money into the alms bowl to watch the puppet show.
The puppet monk made Yang Suo earn thousands of dollars a day, making a lot of money and reviving his family business.
Today, Yang Suo does not lack money, but what he lacks is to be recognized by the court, to be promoted to a noble position, and to shine on his family name.
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While recruiting skilled craftsmen on a large scale, Bai Fu ordered Xiong Badou, Huang Zhen and others to secretly verify the identities of these craftsmen to prevent enemy spies and spies from infiltrating the Ordnance Supervision.
After passing the examination, Bai Fu awarded these skilled craftsmen official positions according to their abilities and organized them into the Armor Department, Bow and Crossbow Department and other departments.
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Ma Daifeng, Li Jin, Han Zhi, Yang Suo and others were very motivated and quickly invested in weapons research and development.
However, Bai Fu was not satisfied with the answers they submitted. None of the weapon prototypes they produced met the requirements of actual combat and failed to pass the test of the Ministry of War.
All the craftsmen were discouraged and quite dejected. Their food did not taste good and they had restless nights. Bai Fu saw it in his eyes and took it into consideration.
Early that morning, Bai Fu took Zi Che Xi to the Ordnance Supervision of the Ministry of War.
Bai Fu summoned all the craftsmen to discuss the matter in the inner hall.
Bai Fu said to the craftsmen: "You are all a generation of craftsmen who can create ingenious artifacts. Why can't you develop sharp weapons? Can you discuss the reasons?"
Ma Daifeng, Li Jin and others nodded, regretting: "Because we have never been on the battlefield, we only heard about the war and do not know the details of the fighting between the soldiers of the two armies."
Bai Fu said: "Yes, in order to give everyone an intuitive experience, today we will go to the battlefield in person and watch the battle up close."
"Visiting the battlefield in person?" The craftsmen looked at each other, surprised and confused.
Bai Fu said to Zi Che, "Brother Zi Che, please bless me and protect me."
Zi Chesi set up a formation according to the directions of the stars and asked everyone to sit in the directions he decided.
After the formation was set up, Bai Fu sat cross-legged on the platform, held the military seal in his hand, and said: "Everyone, follow my method to guide your inner breath and enter the state of fetal breath. I will take you to Shatter the Void and go to Suiyang City for a walk.
trip."
Everyone was guided according to the law and quickly entered a state of meditation.
Under the protection of the Zi Che Split Formation, Bai Fu brought the craftsmen into the secret realm of the military domain, allowing them to experience the brutal battle of the siege of Suiyang.
Suddenly, the spirits of the craftsmen descended through the clouds and descended into the head of Suiyang City.
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"Boom, boom, boom," war drums rumbled, and horns sounded loud.
The Yan army dispatched a large siege equipment - the ladder. The ladder was huge, as high as the city wall, and was indestructible. The middle layer of the ladder was a siege tower, which could accommodate 200 elite soldiers. The top of the ladder was an arrow tower and a springboard.
There are wooden wheels at the bottom of the ladder. Soldiers can hide behind the ladder bunker and push the ladder towards the city wall.
When the ladder was about to approach the city wall, the Tang army stretched out a wooden pillar from the first hole with an iron hook tied to the capital. The iron hook hooked the ladder so that it could not retreat; at the same time, a wooden pillar stretched out from the second hole with an iron hook tied to the capital.
The steel fork was firmly against the ladder, preventing it from getting close to the city wall; a long wooden stick stretched out from the third hole, with an iron cage tied to the end, and a torch in the cage. The iron cage torch burned the middle section of the ladder, and a raging flame instantly
Set the ladder on fire.
The middle section of the ladder was burned, and the 200 elite men hiding at the top were like roasting pigs in a furnace. Their bodies were on fire, and their hair was all burning. Many soldiers would rather jump off the ladder and fall to their death than be burned alive.
Such a powerful ladder suddenly became a nightmare for the Yan army. There were screams in the city of Suiyang and the smell of burnt air filled the air.
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The Yan army dispatched "hook chariots" to attack the city, specifically hooking the city towers and pavilions. All the pavilions and pavilions collapsed wherever the hooks reached.
Zhang Xun, the leader of the Tang army, was not to be outdone, and craftsmen in the military camp rushed to make a batch of "leather carts" overnight, using wood, chains, and iron rings to form "leather cart long arms."
Once the Yan army's hook cart appears, immediately use the iron ring at the end of the leather cart's long arm to catch the iron hook on the hook cart, and drag the hook and cart together to the top of the city.
If the soldiers of the Yan army refused to let go, and the two sides reached a tug of war and reached a stalemate, the soldiers of the Tang army used sharp axes and long knives to cut off the iron hooks, and then let the hook cart go back.
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The ladders and hook carts were all scrapped under the fantastic defense methods of Zhang Xun, the leader of the Tang army. The Yan army had to use another new type of siege equipment - the 'wooden donkey'.
The Yan army soldiers were in groups of five, hiding under a shield made of wood. The shield was shaped like a donkey and was covered with wet cowhide. The soldiers hid in the belly of the 'wooden donkey' and carried it forward.
The 'wooden donkey' served as a bunker, and the soldiers of the Yan army were not afraid of missing arrows, including those with fire.
After several rounds of fighting, Zhang Xun, the leader of the Tang army, found a way to crack the "wooden donkey".
Zhang Xun ordered his soldiers to melt the metal into liquid. When the Yan army's wooden donkey mountain rushed to the city with a tsunami, the Tang army poured copper liquid and molten iron on their heads. The boiling soup instantly turned the 'wooden donkey' into charcoal.
The soldiers of the Yan army rolled out from the belly of the "wooden donkey", their whole bodies were on fire, and they rolled on the sand in an attempt to extinguish the flames. The sharp archers of the Tang army at the top of the city killed the Yan soldiers one by one with one arrow.
Zhang Xun was resourceful and his soldiers were united, like the Great Steel Wall. All the siege weapons brought by the Yan army from Luoyang were destroyed by the Tang army, and the Yan army generals were unable to do anything.
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A few hours later, Bai Fu ended his guidance and everyone returned to normal from the meditative state.
In the Battle of Suiyang, the craftsmen were deeply impressed and amazed by the whims of the defenders. The soldiers of the Tang army served their country loyally and sacrificed their lives for the country. The touching scene made the craftsmen burst into tears and their blood boiled.
Ma Daifeng was the first to ask for a fight. He straightened his body, cupped his fists with both hands, and said loudly: "Master Bai, Ma hereby issued a military order. If a sharp weapon cannot be developed to defend the city and defeat the enemy within three months, Ma is willing to engage in military law."
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"We are willing to issue a military order! If we can't develop a weapon to kill thieves, we will eventually be willing to engage in military law!" The craftsmen were brave, high-spirited, and their oaths shook the sky!
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After Bai Fu left, all the craftsmen went into seclusion for two days and two nights, brainstorming and pooling their efforts.
After leaving the customs, Ma Daifeng met with Bai Fu and asked to invite Qintian Supervisor Zhengliang Lingzhan and Songyang Guan Taoist Master Sun Taichong, two master-level craftsmen, to assist the Ordnance Supervisor in developing weapons.
Bai Fu was quite surprised. For some reason, he curiously asked: "What does designing weapons have to do with Qin Tianjian?"
Ma Daifeng said: "Although Xiaguan, Li Jin, Han Zhi, Yang Suo and other craftsmen are proficient in gear operation, making long-distance attack weapons requires craftsmen who can calculate the trajectory of arrow paths.
I think Master Thich Nhat Hanh was well versed in the calendar, yin and yang, the five elements, and the science of mathematics. He was the best candidate. Unfortunately, he died young. His close friend Liang Lingzhan was proficient in astronomy, constellations, and mathematics. Together with Thich Nhat Hanh, he formulated a new plan.
Li - Dayan Li, created the Huntian Bronze Instrument. His talent and learning are as high as those of Thich Nhat Hanh."
Bai Fu nodded in agreement and asked, "What's the point of needing an alchemy Taoist priest?"
Ma Daifeng said: "To develop more lethal firearms, we need alchemy Taoist priests who are proficient in the 'fire and brimstone method'.
Ordinary firearms do not have enough flame intensity. Take rockets as an example. The arrows are tied with flammable substances such as grease, rosin, and sulfur. They are ignited and shot out with a crossbow to burn down enemy positions.
Ordinary flammable substances often self-extinguish during flight, greatly reducing the effectiveness of the rocket. Gunpowder refined using the 'fire and brimstone method' can avoid such problems.
The arrows are tied with gunpowder. Not only will the flames of the arrows not go out when flying, they will also explode on impact, producing astonishing power.
Regarding gunpowder, Sun Simiao, the king of medicine, recorded a secret method in the "Sulfur Method Within the Alchemy": "Use sulfur, realgar combined with saltpeter, and burn it with charcoal. The flames will rise, burning your hands and face, and destroying the house."
Taoist priest Sun Taichong of Songyang Temple once refined the Nine-turn Golden Pill for the Supreme Emperor and was skilled in the 'Fire and Brimstone Technique'. With the help of Taoist Master Sun, the Ordnance Supervisor can develop sharper firearms."
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You know, craftsmen also have a circle of craftsmen, who cherish each other, admire and respect each other.
The imperial court has not attached great importance to craftsmanship since ancient times, resulting in the talents of these craftsmen being buried and unknown. These craftsmen can only treat their own talents as hobbies, study and explore privately, and communicate with people of the same profession.
Bai Fu readily agreed and went out in person, together with Ma Daifeng and other craftsmen, to sincerely invite two master-level craftsmen to serve as the Ordnance Supervisor.
The two worldly experts did not want to be involved in weapons manufacturing and politely declined.
Bai Fuxiao uses reason and emotions: "The rebellion will not be put down, the Tang Dynasty will not be at peace, and the people will not be peaceful... The people are in ruins, and they have to change their sons to eat. You two ask yourself, what are you thinking about?
Tolerate?"
Under the sincere invitation of Ma Daifeng, Li Jin, Han Zhi, Yang Suo and other craftsmen, Qintian Supervisor Zhengliang Lingzhan and Songyang Temple Sun Taichong looked at each other and reluctantly agreed.
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At this point, with the strong support of Bai Fu, the minister of the Ministry of War, the Ordnance Supervisor of the Ministry of War has gathered together the famous craftsmen of the Tang Dynasty, a gathering of heroes, the stars are bright and shining!