The orange-red sunset is swaying, and the mountain clouds like cotton wool are slightly rolling.

Li Xiang did not build a wall at the mountain pass less than 300 meters, which would be too arrogant. He only secretly moved some hands and feet in the hills and valleys on both sides, and so far he has only completed about 20%.

Zhang Wanli, Lei Cheng, Tang Guohao, Four-eyed Boy, Zhu Laoer, One-legged Li Laohan, Xiong Chengwen, Deng Yushun, Liu Xiaoci...... Many people stood at the mountain pass, holding baskets and carrying burdens, waiting for Li Xiang and his party to return to the mountain in victory.

On the afternoon of 18 June, Li Xiang and Liu Chengdong returned to the mountain with several hundred people. Ma Rulan and others who came all the way from Bianjing accompanied them.

"Where?" Lei Cheng looked at the smoke and dust in the distance, and asked Jing Xinyidao, who had just run back to the mountain pass.

Jing Xinyi took a few people to investigate the location of Li Xiang and his party, and had just returned at this moment. He said with a complicated expression: "There is less than half an hour to go. ”

Zhu Laoer, one-legged Li Laohan and others behind Lei Cheng were overjoyed when they heard this. Zhang Wanli, who was standing at the front of everyone, felt strange, but did not ask Jing Xinyi what he saw.

The reason for Jing Xinyi's complicated expression soon appeared in front of the eyes of everyone in Yamaguchi.

Half an hour later, Li Xiang and his party arrived at the mountain pass. There was a cold silence inside and outside the pass.

The first batch of Zhuang Ding returned less than 300 people. They lined up in three columns and slowly advanced.

The focus of Zhang Wanli and the others' observation was not the neat gray and black clothes, the wind and frost and scars on Zhuang Ding's face, and the knives and guns covered with scars, but the first time they were attracted by the urn hanging around Zhuang Ding's neck.

In the battlefield south of the Yangtze River and the battlefield east of Xinye, more than 400 people were killed in the Qinling Mountains. Around the neck of each farmer, at least one urn is hung.

Li Xiang and Liu Chengdong dismounted and walked slowly.

The big bull in the team shouted loudly: "The soul is back~~~"

More than 200 Zhuang Ding echoed in unison. Ma Rulan and others were infected, and they also called for a long time. The mountain people who came to greet Li Xiang put down their food and wine, and called for the heroic soul to return to their hometown with tears in their eyes.

More than 1,000 people, including Li Xiang, watched the ashes enter the mountain pass before they got up to follow. The atmosphere of joy and impetuousness was gone, and a few people began to think about the price that Mingyuezhuang had paid along the way.

"When the old man handed over the second donkey to you, what did you say? What do you mean?! ”

Li Xiang, Liu Chengdong, Zhang Wanli and other high-level officials worshiped the heroic spirits on the eastern hill. The third child of the Ding family, that is, Ding Shixin, knelt in front of the second donkey's new home with the relics of the second donkey, his nose and tears were mixed together, and the whole person was confused.

The grandmother of the second donkey hit the third child of the Ding family with a cane, and then slammed the ground with a cane. Muddy old tears flowed down the wrinkles, and the grandmother of the second donkey cried bitterly:

"I am incompetent and have no family background. The second donkey of my family is ugly, and I can't talk about my daughter-in-law in the mountains. ”

"The second donkey only recognizes you as a brother, and the old man wants him to follow you outside to break in, and he ......has a long ability."

"The second donkey blocked the knife and the gun, saved your life, and his life fell on you. You go, don't go into the old man's house in the future. ”

The grandfather of the second donkey bent down to pick up the relic, patted Ding Shixin on the shoulder, just sighed, and turned back home.

The wooden door was closed, but Ding Shixin insisted on kneeling for three days.

Seven days after Li Xiang's wedding, Ding Shixin took out half of his family property, bought more than 100 paper houses, paper carriages, paper clothes, and a dozen paper maids, and burned them in front of the stone tablet of the two donkeys.

Ding Shixin's kind of method, if you put it in the outside world, there will definitely be officials and gentry who come to the door to ask it, and if you don't do it, you will have to go to prison, and no one in the mountains will be able to stop the crazy Ding Shixin. What's more, he drank heavily all day long and wore a cloak all day long, who would dare to persuade him?

It was not until the morning of June 19 that the ashes of the dead were buried. Because of the advance notice, the small stone tablets in mass production were sufficient, but it was too late to engrave everyone's names and biographies.

Led by Li Xiang and Liu Chengdong, all the people who can speak in the mountains kneel down and cry, and kneel outside when there is not enough space in the ancestral hall. Li Mengkong, Carpenter, Zhen Laoshi and other older guys worked very hard, but they gritted their teeth and persevered.

Liu Chengdong felt very uncomfortable.

A few years ago, when he attacked the village against the coalition of officials and bandits, his plan deviated greatly, resulting in heavy casualties among the villagers. During the few months in Jiangnan, especially during the period when he was stubbornly defending the county seat of Deqing, the children in the mountains under his command suffered heavy casualties.

Although Liu Chengdong did not make any obvious mistakes, Zhuang Min must have been dissatisfied and muttered: The young people who followed the owner of the village also fought hard, why did people put it in the hands of you Liu Chengdong, and the casualties were particularly heavy?

There are some things that are really difficult to explain to the average mountain people. So while everyone was there, Liu Chengdong announced that he would step down from the nominal position of Zhuang Ding's control.

Li Xiang finally peacefully achieved full control of the foundation in the mountains, and the little influence left by Liu Chengdong and other older generations began to completely dissipate.

Liu Chengdong's old brother was not unconvinced, after all, Li Xiang took good care of them, and the dead and injured were acquaintances after all. They just felt that Liu Chengdong, the owner of the old village and the eldest brother, was a little too unlucky, either failing in his strategy or throwing himself into the tiger's den......

Since eating at noon, the village has been busy with a pot of porridge for Li Xiang's wedding tomorrow.

The dirt roads should be swept clean, and the utensils for the wedding ceremony should be properly arranged. The most important thing is to supply tens of thousands of people tomorrow. For the banquet alone, because the weather was too hot, only 600 people could be mobilized to work overnight.

According to the rules, Li Xiang can't work for his wedding, let alone see Liu Susu before the marriage. He ordered Xiong Chengwen and Deng Yushun to arrange for people to keep a guard at the Martyrs' Shrine, and when they returned to the village, they fell into a state of boredom.

Four-Eyed and Radar came over and asked Li Xiang to check the equipment workshop that had not been put into production for a long time.

In the roaring elongated workshop, Li Xiang excitedly looked at the shafts, gears, sets of bearings, iron frames and other parts on the civil iron-clad workbench, and laughed at the stupid black and thick ironwood lathe:

"Four-eyed boy, I thought I would have to wait until the end of the year to see the ironwood lathe in action. You're a good boy! ”

"Are the shelves made of iron, hinges and other precious parts or bronze? There are only two kinds of bearings: iron and wood bearings and bronze bearings, how long will it take to replace them with iron? ”

Four-Eyed proudly provoked Radar, but in exchange for white eyes, he didn't care. The guy helped the crystal glasses and said: "According to the master's reminder, the kid no longer expects the lathe to be able to replace parts and achieve a variety of functions." Only the drilled hole is drilled, and the cut is only cut...... Indeed, as the Master said, it is much easier to build. ”

Then the boy sent the task of improving the different parts to the masters, and regularly assembled and tested them to make overall improvements. Under the stimulation of the elements, the skilled craftsmen in the back mountains forgot to sleep and eat one by one, so that the ironwood lathe can be used. ”

"It's just that today's lathes can only use manpower and livestock, and they can't be connected to the water wheel, mainly because the transmission and transmission components can't meet the requirements."

"Iron and wood bearings are what some people will do when they are in Mingyue Village. As long as the problem of sealing grease is solved, bronze bearings can be produced in large quantities to replace ironwood bearings. As for the shaft, the core component of the waterwheel, it can only be used bronze at present, and the kid still has no clue. ”

"I don't know how the master craftsmen of the two major official bureaus in the north and south of Bianjing used iron to make such a straight and hard hinge."

Hearing Four-Eyed Boy say this, Li Xiang and Radar both looked at a black hinge placed against the wall and were silent.

The Great Zhou Dynasty was keen to manufacture large waterwheels and large mills to save costs and manpower, which was also a manifestation of valuing industry and commerce. There are no less than 20 places in the Great Zhou that can be made of iron to make a shaft, but it is the best and the deepest accumulation by the master craftsmen of Bianjing.

In just two or three years, Mingyuezhuang can produce a workable shaft in small batches, which is already a miracle. However, compared with the two thousand years of accumulation in the manufacture of instruments in the entire Yanhuang land, it is still not enough at all.

Li Xiang had the painful experience of urging too tightly, which made the craftsman doctor in the back mountain make a big basket, so he had to sigh and say:

"Let's change it. In the next period of time, I will be more relaxed in my hand and allocate more money to Houshan. Don't think about producing directly with iron, try to make a few batches of copper first, maybe you can touch the bypass. ”

The four-eyed boy "coo-dong" and "coo-dong" swallowed violently. Radar eyes glow.

A large number of shafts, gears, and bearings are directly made of copper...... It's just throwing money, what a big deal!

Such a high-tech problem as the transmission and transmission device was almost stagnant within half a year of Li Xiang's departure. Only when the young people in the back mountains absorb some more arithmetic achievements of the Chinese land, supplemented by mass manufacturing, can the transmission and transmission device progress.

The transmission and transmission device required by the hydraulic forging hammer is very simple, and coupled with the small dam with adjustable water flow built by Zhen Laoshi, it can finally be put into use in small batches. Instead of building one as before, it is a house, and it often lies on its stomach.

The heart of the weights and measures workshop is always strong in the smell of steel, gum and grease.

Li Xiang came here on purpose to check the full set of triangular rulers that were finalized not long ago, as well as the simple version of the vernier caliper.

If we want to continue to make progress, the existing measurement precision and measurement methods are no longer enough.

Basic measuring tools such as rulers, tape measures, balances, and water measuring devices have been improving, and new triangular rulers and vernier calipers that combine the existing prototypes of Dazhou have finally appeared, which is not bad news.

There is also great news. Lei Cheng, Tang Guohao and others worked together, and it took two years to finally master the method of frying steel!

The iron-making workshop in Mingyuezhuang could only make 100 steel-making and crucible steel three years ago in Shengxi.

Bailian steel is very easy to understand, that is, it is repeatedly folded and forged, forced out of certain components, and finally obtained steel.

The raw materials of the crucible steelmaking method are too rare, and they are only suitable for the production of sharp tools such as "iron knives". Crucible steel is time-consuming and costly, not to mention, the key is that the output is very low, and it is almost extinct after the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

In Li Xiang's heart, whether it is to build swords, guns and armor, or secretly research firearms, or to promote the overall progress of science and technology, steel is the top priority. Steelmaking is at the core.

Even if everything else is stagnant, as long as the steel frying method can be used in large quantities, the steel output of Mingyuezhuang can at least increase by five to fifteen times!

The basic operation of the frying method is to heat the pig iron into a semi-liquid and liquid form, and then add iron ore powder, while constantly stirring, using iron ore powder and oxygen in the air to remove part of the carbon in the pig iron, so that the carbon content in the pig iron is reduced. Then the slag is removed and the steel is obtained directly.

The raw material is pig iron that is easily obtainable, the decarburization is fast, the production is fast, and the steel produced is widely applicable, which are the three outstanding advantages of the steel frying method.

The frying method used to be a major breakthrough in steelmaking technology.

Compared with the previous block refining method, 100 steel refining and crucible steel, the most powerful thing about the frying steel method is that it can provide a large amount of cheap and high-quality wrought iron or steel, which makes the steel production in the Yanhuang land reach a new level.

Since the end of the Western Han Dynasty, with the maturity and large-scale use of the steel frying method, most of the weapons and blades have gradually been made of steel. Steel knives, steel spears, and point-and-steel arrows once gave the Yanhuang people a great advantage in the battle with the nomadic barbarians of the north.

After that, the steel frying method continued to develop, and together with the steel filling method, the steel production continued to surge, and finally steel completely replaced stone, wood, and bronze in the fields of agricultural tools, instrument parts, knives, guns, and armor.

For the current forces of Mingyuezhuang, the steel frying method will greatly help the production of production tools such as lathes, agricultural tools and other living utensils, and weapons such as knives, guns, axes and crossbows. Even if the quality of the obtained steel is too low, it can be used as a raw material for 100 steelmaking and steel filling.

Of course, there are also disadvantages of the frying method, the most prominent point is the high requirements for process heat.

This makes Li Xiang even if he sets the procedures and standards well, and no matter how well the assembly line and standardization are done, he can only train skilled craftsmen in batches and expand the application scope of the steel frying method step by step. The steel output of the Great Zhou Dynasty is the best in the world, and it has taken more than 200 years to get from the ruins of the chaotic era at the end of the Tang Dynasty step by step!

In addition to the frying steel method, Lei Cheng and the carpenter have a top-secret good news.

At the foot of the mountain to the north of the small valley, there is a small modified test site, where some top-secret, urgent, and unsuitable things for testing in the back mountains will be brought here.

The test site is covered on three sides with solid brick walls, and the high brick walls are topped with iron barbs. There are disabled veterans, secret spies and dozens of good hands patrolling and guarding day and night, and Li Xiang is very relieved.

At this time, except for Li Xiang, only Lei Cheng, Carpenter, Radar, and Four-Eyed Tsai were watching from the test site at the foot of the mountain.

Li Xiang was holding a strange thing in his hand, a brand new "strange trick".

Thick iron pipes with dark frosted length, up to thirty centimeters long. The walnut cut and polished handle is yellow and clear, and it is very close to the hand. The steel wheel on the right side of the rear of the barrel was full of serrations, clinging to a small piece of flint pinched by a small iron clamp. There is a front sight in front and a door in the back......

It's a reed wheel!

In order to ensure safety, Lei Cheng and Carpenter added nearly a pound of iron when building, and then tested the last batch of barrels in advance, before picking out the two best ones based on the sound of firing the gun. The barrel was fired thirty times during the test, and the gunpowder was released by half more.

Li Xiang held a reed wheel handcuff of nearly three catties, thinking that Lei Cheng could really do these guys.

Play begins.

I saw Li Xiang take out a small meniscus-shaped medicine pot, break open the small iron lid of the medicine pot, and pour in the powdered ignition powder. The small iron cover is returned to its original position under the action of the spring.

After that, he took out a small medicine bag and poured the rice-grained gunpowder into the barrel of the gun. Draw the jujube wood from the wood under the barrel, hold it upside down, and gently pound the gunpowder with a blunt tip in the shape of a droplet.

Then the linen-wrapped lead pellet was stuffed into the barrel and gently rammed again with a through-strip.

Put the bar back and reload.

After loading, you can't put it down, so you have to put force on the spring wheel first.

Li Xiang stared curiously at the silk rope in his hand.

There are small iron rings at both ends of the silk rope, and the small iron ring at one end is to be put on the middle finger.

Hang the small iron ring at the other end of the wire rope on the small hook on the right side of the steel wheel, and then use your index finger to quickly wrap the wire rope into the groove next to the serrated teeth of the steel wheel, and then pull it with your hand.

"Click!"

The silk rope is straight. Li Xiang let go of his hand, took off the silk rope, and finished the force.

To ensure safety, Li Xiang held the handcuff with both hands. The four on his side cleverly plugged their ears.

Li Xiang pulled the trigger hard.

The small iron lid of the primer pot is opened. The steel wheel that lost its resistance rotated rapidly, and the flint pulled by the spring rubbed violently against the steel wheel, and the spark sputtered away in the direction of the primer pot.

"Bang!"

After a short muffled sound, a wooden plank the size of a human head ten meters away ...... Nothing!

The atmosphere was awkward. Lei Cheng was about to explain, but he heard the owner of the village wave his hand and say:

"It doesn't matter. This thing is used to hit people face-to-face, and it's normal to miss. ”

Li Xiang continued to charge and test the handcuffs. In order to ensure safety, he had to wrap a wet cloth and scrape the chamber of the gun every time he hit and release, and he was really a man who valued his life extremely important.

When the fourth shot of lead bullet was fired, the five-centimeter-thick plank was torn apart.

"It's good, take a look at the buckshot." Li Xiang said.

Li Xiang took the strange-shaped pieces of lead bullet picked up by the radar and the four-eyed boy. While observing, I put forward a few suggestions for improvement.

"There are too many parts. If you can get some masters from Fang La, let them participate in it, and one less part is a credit. The premise is that the handcuffs are better to use, not more troublesome. ”

"The flint springs and the mainspring in the drum are expensive enough, so try to remove the other springs. Now, any part that has a problem can't be used, and it looks too ugly. ”

"When the gun is opened, Mars runs straight to the body, and the primer port has to be rebuilt."

"The front sight and the door cannot be followed by the crossbow. The handcuff is so small, how can you aim at it when the door is like this? I'll go back to the back mountain when I have time, and let the painter draw it for you to see......"

Lei Cheng and the others hurriedly wrote down Li Xiang's opinion.

Then Li Xiang continued to try the gun. By the time he reached nearly 30 rounds, the time it took for him to complete his preparations had dropped from more than three minutes to one minute and 40 seconds.

Thirtieth round. Li Xiang held the gun in both hands, held his breath and concentrated, and hooked the trigger.

This time it didn't hit again, but the whole small valley suddenly shook!

Loud noises and exclamations rang out at the same time, and there was a commotion in the small valley.

Li Xiang stabilized his body and looked at the handcuff in disbelief, "No~will~......"

"No, it's the Southwest. What's going on?! ”