Zheng Xianli realized that his suggestion was too much for Meng Lang, so he let out a long sigh.

"Isn't there a rush and there is no way?"

Speaking of this matter, Qin Jin was also depressed, he had been trying his best to plan this matter, but in the end it seemed to be back to the starting point.

"Let's do a good job in front of us first, the Shenwu Army and the Ordnance Supervisor are all in ruins!"

"That's the only way to go!"

Zheng Xianli said goodbye to Qin Jin and returned to the Ordnance Prison.

Three days later, Gao Xianzhi's situation became more and more bad, and the Son of Heaven had ordered the raid of his mansion in Chang'an City, and at the same time, rumors from the government and the opposition were also boiling. However, it was not all bad news for Qin Jin, and there was good news from the Ordnance Supervision Department.

The imitation of the "Divine Arm Bow" was successful, and Zheng Xianli rushed to the Forbidden Garden Shenwu Army garrison with the old craftsman who led the crossbow building.

When Qin Jin learned that the trial production of the heavy crossbow was successful, he couldn't help but high-five and was relieved, but he finally had a matter on his mind.

"Let's go, let's test shoot at the school field!"

Zheng Xianli was anxious, Qin Jin was more anxious than him, and it happened that Pei Jing was also there, so he went to the school field to watch this new type of heavy crossbow that was both small and powerful.

When the group came to the school grounds, Zheng Xianli took the "Divine Arm Bow" from the old craftsman, the crossbow head went down, stepped on the iron kicking ring with his foot, bowed down and pulled the crossbow string with the strength of his back, hung on the copper tooth hair, and then pulled out a seven-inch-and-five-minute long wooden feather arrow from the quiver, as for the crossbow body arrow slot.

His fingers snapped down his teeth, the bowstring trembled, and the feather arrows broke through the air, Qin Jin only felt that his ears suddenly tightened, and the wooden feather arrows that shot out had already sunk deep into the humanoid wooden stake three hundred steps away.

Immediately afterwards, Zheng Xianli kept moving in his hands, pulling the crossbow string, loading the wooden feather arrow, pulling the tooth hair bracket, and the feather arrow shot out, and the action was like flowing water without half a minute of blockage. There were five arrows in a row, and none of the arrows sank into the stake more than three inches.

Everyone present high-fived and applauded, not only for the power of the "Divine Arm Bow", but also for Zheng Xianli's superb archery skills. Ordinary crossbowmen, shooting human-shaped stakes from a hundred paces away, three out of ten are already very rare, Zheng Xianli shot five arrows in a row, and the arrows were shot, and anyone who saw this kind of archery had to count their thumbs sincerely.

After shooting five arrows, Zheng Xianli handed over the "Divine Arm Bow" to Qin Jin, and couldn't help but praise:

"Good crossbow, heavy crossbow in the army, at most four arrows in a row, this crossbow is both light and strong, if it is equipped with a large number of Tang Army, it should be like a tiger with wings!"

After saying that, he turned his head excitedly and said to the old craftsman, "When will the ordnance supervisor be able to make five thousand of these heavy crossbows?"

The old craftsman's face was difficult, "The manufacturing method of this crossbow is much more complicated than the crossbow in the army, so it takes a lot more time!"

Zheng Xianli said again: "There are as many as 1,000 craftsmen registered in the Crossbow Workshop Department, and ten days and a half months are not enough to make 5,000 of these heavy crossbows?"

"Honestly, not enough!"

The old craftsman was obviously not good at words, and he couldn't think of any euphemisms, so his face was flushed, and he said it directly in a hurry.

Qin Jin noticed in the flickering words of the old craftsman that there seemed to be an unspeakable secret in the Crossbow Workshop Department.

Pei Jing has been in Chang'an for a long time, and he is more familiar with the hidden secrets of officialdom than Qin Jin, so he immediately understood, and said:

"This can't be hung with old craftsmen, there are vacancies in the army, and there are also people in the crossbow workshop who eat the vacancies of craftsmen in name. Old craftsman, tell me bluntly, how many craftsmen are really useful in the Crossbow Workshop Department?"

Only then did the old craftsman swallow and say: "It's not a secret, there are no more than 100 people who can make crossbows." “

Hearing that there were less than 100 craftsmen who could make crossbows in the Crossbow Workshop Department, Zheng Xianli's face, which was still a little smiling, suddenly darkened, and now he is the Weapons Supervisor, although he is only a subordinate officer of the Prison, but he is in charge of the general affairs of the Weapons Prison, how can he tolerate someone taking empty quotas from him?

Qin Jin's focus is not on the craftsmen who eat empty quotas, this matter has Zheng Xianli to worry about, he is more concerned about how long it will take for the existing craftsmen to make 5,000 "Divine Arm Bows".

"The old craftsman only said, with the current number of people, how long will it take to make 5,000?"

The old craftsman pinched his fingers and calculated for a while, "The heavy crossbow in the general's hand is made by the joint efforts of ten of the most experienced craftsmen, if it is built in batches by the craftsmen of the Crossbow Workshop Department, the speed will be at least twice as slow, and it will take a year for five thousand crossbows." ”

Qin Jin suddenly felt disappointed, the current situation is changing rapidly, no one knows what the situation will be in a year, even if the number is halved, it will take half a year, how can he afford to wait.

Zheng Xianli was also speechless, "After a year, even the wine and food will be cold!

The old craftsman shook his head helplessly, "The one-year period is already fast, this is still a mulberry tire, beef tendon and other things are ready-made, otherwise it will take three years!"

Zheng Xianli's words reminded Qin Jin, and as soon as his heart moved, he asked the old craftsman: "Which joint is the most complicated part of the 'Divine Arm Bow'?"

Speaking of the method of making heavy crossbows, the old craftsman was obviously a lot more confident, and he gestured with both hands to Qin Jin one by one.

"The biggest difference between this kind of heavy crossbow and the heavy crossbow in the army is the manufacturing process of the crossbow bow, the heavy crossbow in the army is only planed with a whole piece of mulberry wood tire, and it can be pressed and formed, but the heavy crossbow in the hands of the general is made of several layers of planed mulberry wood, and the cow tendon must be glued between each layer, and then it can be formed after several days of heavy pressure. In addition, the manufacturing method of this crossbow string is more complicated than that of ordinary crossbows, and it is made of multiple strands of hemp and silk cow tendon......"

The more the old craftsman spoke, the more detailed he became, and Qin Jin understood the most critical point, so he waved his hand to interrupt it.

"Qin has a way here, you can give it a try, if you refine the division of labor in the production process, you may be able to improve efficiency. ”

The old craftsman was a little confused and couldn't understand Qin Jin's method, so Qin Jin explained it concisely.

The so-called detailed division of labor was the basic method of large-scale production in the previous life of the Qin and Jin dynasties. Although there are only 100 craftsmen in the Crossbow Workshop Department, if the division of labor is scientific, the efficiency should be increased by at least five times or more.

The old craftsman listened carefully, and although he was clumsy, his mind was very flexible.

"What does the general mean, subdivide the 100 craftsmen of the Crossbow Workshop Department into a number of pieces, make crossbow bows, crossbow strings and other things, and then hang the strings and assemble them, but is this the case?"

Qin Jin nodded, the old craftsman was thoughtful, obviously not believing it, but he didn't dare to question it, and finally he could only say: "This, this is also a method, you can try it." ”

After sending Zheng Xianli and the old craftsman away, Qin Jin decided to enter the next stage of preparation, recruiting strong soldiers from the various guards in advance as future crossbowmen.

There is only one requirement for screening soldiers, and every time Qin Jin goes to a guard, he carries a five-stone bow with him, and anyone who can pull this bow in everything is considered qualified.

Many people are surprised by Qin Jin's method of selecting soldiers, it is true that he is a high-grade and preferred soldier, but if he is screened like this, there may not be one out of ten people who can really open a five-stone bow.

The poor in the family are mostly thin and thin, don't say that pulling the five-stone bow and being able to pull the three-stone bow are already burning high incense. And there is no shortage of food and clothing at home, such as those children of the noble and powerful families, and many of them are pampered, and they can't even pull the three-stone bow.

The sergeants of the Sixteenth Guards are very interested in joining the Shenwu Army, one is that the treatment in the Shenwu Army is more than one or two times higher than that of the guards, and in addition, the Shenwu Army is the Beiya Forbidden Army that the Son of Heaven attaches the most importance to, and the limelight has even overshadowed the Longwu Army in Chen Xuanli's own hands, so whether they are from poor backgrounds or children from rich backgrounds, they are all eager for this.

However, after Qin Jin's personal assessment and screening, only one thousand people were selected, which was still far from the five thousand who were reported to the Son of Heaven.

The scope of this screening also includes the existing soldiers in the Shenwu Army, Pei Jing and others are also interested in pulling the five-stone bow, and the qualified ones are also pitiful.

In the face of the five-stone bow, Pei Jing only pulled half of it, which made him frustrated. As a lieutenant colonel, if you can't set an example in everything, you are likely to lose your prestige, and the soldiers below will look down on you.

Qin Jin noticed Pei Jing's frustrated expression, so he stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder and comforted: "Brawn strength is both born and acquired, and if you can't pull it away for a while, it doesn't mean that you can't pull it away after half a year." ”

Pei Jing was very anxious, he didn't think much of Qin Jin's words, he just wanted to be able to pull this bow right now, otherwise he would be eliminated from the newly formed elite division, where would he put this face?

Qin Jin said again: "With the training intensity in the Shenwu Army, within three or five months, at least more than half of them can pull the five-stone bow, why rush for a while?"

Pei Jing seemed to hear what Qin Jin said, and said happily: "Is there any hope for going down?"

Qin Jin smiled and nodded, "Forming an elite division is not something that can be done overnight, it may be three or four months, or it may be a year and a half, in the preparation stage, anything is possible!"

Although the situation is now stable, Qin Jin is still carrying out his plan step by step, not to mention that the Son of Heaven seems to be aware of the disadvantages of strong branches and weak cadres, so he is also eager to form an elite forbidden army to achieve the goal of strong cadres.

Pei Jing, who got Qin Jin's hint, went happily, but Qin Jin fell into contemplation again. He sat alone for a while, and then ordered someone to look for Du Qianyun.

After a while, Du Qianyun came with an excited face.

"The subordinate Du Qianyun meets the Zhonglang general!"

Qin Jin's face was gloomy and motioned for Du Qianyun to sit down.

"What's going on?"

Du Qianyun replied with a bit of smugness on his face: "The blessing of dragging the Zhonglang general, Wei Fangjin is a greedy ghost, and after feeding, he will shake his head and tail ......" Speaking of this, he saw that Qin Jin not only did not laugh, but his face became more gloomy, so he stopped mocking Wei Fangjin with interest, and said with a straight face: "Just wait for Zhonglang to give an order......

"Okay, although Wei Fangjin is greedy and incompetent, after all, he is the prime minister in the political hall, you don't have to worry about the rest, I will go to visit this Wei Xianggong tomorrow!"

Wei Fangjin's face showed a little disappointed, Qin Jin ordered him to bribe this liao with a large sum of gold and silver, but he didn't explain what was going on, he was curious, and wanted to find out what Qin Jin's plan was, which he couldn't understand. The second is disappointed, disappointed that Qin Jin does not fully trust him, Du Qianyun has become a street rat shouted and beaten by tens of thousands of people after losing Yang Guozhong's backer, if there is no protection from Qin Jin, I am afraid that even getting up alone is already a luxury.

Early the next morning, Qin Jin drove lightly and went straight to Wei Fang's mansion.

The Tang Dynasty's precautions against generals and ministers were not as perverted as they were after the Song Dynasty, and ordinary walks and official contacts would not provoke unnecessary discussions. Qin Jin had a preconceived impression in his previous life, and while holding military power in his hands, he paid great attention to the distance from the prime ministers. This is already too cautious compared to the contemporaries who held military power. Even if Chen Xuanli is a close confidant of the Son of Heaven, he will have exchanges with cautious people like Wei Jiansu during the New Year's holidays.

Therefore, Qin Jin also let go of the guidelines he had always strictly guarded at this time, and sometimes he should take a risk, such as to win over this Wei Fangjin.

Wei Fangjin entered 10,000 gold in a few days, and his heart blossomed, and at the same time, he was waiting, waiting for the person who gave the gift to enter the mansion to ask for something, otherwise the money would not be practical. Especially the person who gave the gift was still the lieutenant general of the Shenwu Army who had brought down Yang Guozhong.

Sure enough, Qin Jin came to visit him today, and Wei Fangjin received him with a super-standard courtesy.

But seeing that the middle door of the Wei Mansion was wide open, Wei Fangjin descended to greet him, and greeted a Zhonglang general with the respect of the prime minister.

And in Wei Fangjin's eyes, no official reputation is as decent as the gold ingots of yellow, orange and orange.

"Zhonglang will be here, Wei is shining!"

Although Wei Fangjin made a low profile, Qin Jin was unwilling to accept it stubbornly, and still treated him as a courtesy to meet Shangguan.

"The prince is in love, and the subordinates are flattered!"

Wei Fangjin was quite surprised by Qin Jin's humble attitude. In the rumors, this person gives the impression of being young and vigorous, flying and domineering, otherwise the Son of Heaven would not have used it to rectify the lawlessness in the city, and even brought down Yang Guozhong...... But civilization is not as good as meeting, why is he so polite?

In addition to being surprised, Wei Fangjin had a little more good impression of Qin Jin and his people, it is true that most of this good impression is due to those yellow, orange and orange gold ingots, but after all, there is a trace of it from his first impression after meeting Qin Jin and his people.

Qin Jin knew that Wei Fangjin regarded wealth as his life, so he brought a heavy gift when he visited today, but this time it was not a yellow, orange and orange gold ingot. Rather, it is the finest white jade from Anxi.

Anxi is thousands of miles away from Chang'an, and it is very possible to transport a piece of white jade to Chang'an, and it costs an unknown amount of money, and even how many lives are taken. Therefore, this Anxi white jade is in Chang'an, a small piece is worth a thousand gold, and if the land is excellent, it is even more priceless.

Wei Fangjin is a person who knows the goods, and when he saw the white jade that Qin Jin ordered someone to offer, his smiling eyes immediately narrowed into a slit, and he said again and again:

"Zhonglang will be so polite, Wei really doesn't know how to repay it!"

Having said that, Wei Fangjin couldn't put it down and stroked it left and right on that side of Anxi Baiyu, and only after a while did he realize his gaffe, cough awkwardly, call the servants at home, and order him to clean up carefully, and then turned his gaze back to Qin Jin, who was already seated.