Previous Chapter: Chapter 477 - The First Ingot of Steel Next: Chapter 479 - Pre-Preparation

"With iron, with steel, we are going to set up an arsenal, and you tell me where it should be placed. Complete Works"

"From the point of view of use, it is naturally the most convenient place in the newly established Dongzhou City or Gaozhou City on the other side of the river, and the ordnance produced will be directly put into the armory of the Military Material Yard and then allocated to the officers and soldiers of the army as needed."

"From Kieke Mountain to the east and high states, the geography is far away, and the transportation is inconvenient, so it is better to put it in the town of Kiekoshan, where there is coal, iron and manpower, which can greatly reduce costs."

Everyone was talking about it, and Li Mao couldn't make up his mind for a while.

However, there was no major controversy over the selection of the person who presided over the manufacture of weapons, and everyone elected Zheng Xiaozhang to lead, and Zheng Pei was specifically responsible. The advantage of Zheng Xiaozhang's leadership is that he can maximize the use of human, financial and material resources, he is specifically in charge of the military material institute, and he knows the situation of the use of weapons best, and can organize production according to the use of it. Zheng Pei is not only good at ironmaking, but also a well-known weapons expert, his status is unique and irreplaceable.

Li Mao agreed with the two of them to form a team, and proposed that Chang Mu Cang be a consultant, and Chang Mu Cang was also very good at researching weapons, and now the famous and powerful repeating machine crossbow is his masterpiece.

After careful consideration, Li Mao still decided to set up the main body of the armory factory in Kikkashan and call it the No. 1 Ordnance Institute, while the manufacture of fine weapons such as repeating machine crossbows was placed in Gaozhou City in Hexi and called it the No. 2 Ordnance Institute.

Gaozhou is a new city with a large garrison, which is convenient for secrecy and flanking security.

In the midsummer of that year, Li Mao took Jin Daoan, Zheng Xiaozhang, Gao Bing and others to Kikko Mountain, with the aim of building a new city there. The large, medium and small tribes scattered in the forests of the Liaodong grassland will not attack the city, and the tall and thick city walls can effectively curb their harassment, and although the cost of building the city is high, it is still very cost-effective compared to the benefits.

Accompanied by Hu Nanxiang, Li Mao carefully inspected the surrounding terrain, and found that the coal and iron mines covered a vast and scattered area, and it was obviously unrealistic to enclose them with a city.

However, the area of the ordnance station is not large, and it is not difficult to build a high wall around it for security.

Li Mao chose a small ravine that was easy to defend and difficult to attack, and said to Zheng Xiaozhang and others: "One is located here, build a city and defend the mountain pass, and build a castle on the hillside."

Gao Bing had a different opinion, and said: "There is a cave on the other side of the valley, the natives call it a bottomless pit, the space in the cave is open, and the Tibetans and reserve materials are very cheap, it is better to build a castle outside the cave entrance to guard the cave entrance, and install an iron gate at the entrance of the cave, just in case." This saves a lot of material and, most importantly, facilitates the concentration of forces on defense. ”

Li Mao asked Zheng Xiaozhang and others for their opinions, Zheng Xiaozhang said: "Liaodong is vast and sparsely populated, the troops are not enough, and it is indeed not cost-effective to defend a factory with heavy troops. ”

"But," Zheng Xiaozhang said again, "The name of the bottomless pit is not very good, can it be changed to another name?"

Hu Nanxiang said: "Coal and iron are not afraid of them to rob, but the factory is afraid of fire, if the barbarians attack and set fire, our losses will be great." ”

Li Mao asked: "Shonan has a good abacus, what should you do in your opinion?"

Hu Nanxiang said: "It's better to think from the big picture, set up strongholds on the main roads leading to the mining area, and set up more formations in the mining area to hide the core points, even if the barbarians come in, they are like rats in the bellows, and they are angry at both ends, and there is nowhere to put their mouths." ”

Li Mao saw that everyone had no other opinions, so he concluded: "This is the heart of Liaodong, and you can't hide in the cave as soon as the wind blows, so that although it is safe, no one will play the task of supporting the entire Liaodong." Build a castle in the mountain pass to protect the safety of the ordnance station, set up more forts in the mining area, and strengthen the internal guard, even if someone sneaks in, it will not be able to cause great damage. The bottomless pit is also to be used as a final refuge and storage for finished weapons. Of course, the name of the bottomless pit is a little unpleasant, so I think it will be changed to the Tibetan Soldier Cave. Others hide soldiers and horses, but we hide weapons. ”

Zheng Xiaozhang also changed his mind, and waved his hand arrogantly: "Then make a comprehensive plan, build the Tortoise Mountain into an iron armor mountain, let him wind and waves, and I will not move." ”

Li Mao said with a smile: "Mr. Zheng is full of pride, we are all confident, but the road must be taken step by step, the meal must be eaten one bite at a time, plan with a long-term and overall situation, and then implement it step by step, not impatient, do not slack off, step by step, and do things well and solidly." Turn the Tortoiseshell Mountain into an iron armor mountain, and wear the heart of the iron armor. ”

The gloomy sky suddenly released light, the midsummer in Liaodong was not hot, and the sky was even bluer, Li Mao climbed the commanding heights of Tortoiseshell Mountain and looked down at the mines, factories, and towns distributed in the valley, and a sense of pride suddenly surged in his heart.

He took a deep breath and warned himself not to be impatient, to stabilize his waist, today's situation is not easy to come by, and he must not be hot-headed. After calming down, he asked Zheng Xiaozhang and Gao Bing when the plan could be made, Zheng Xiaozhang and Gao Bing discussed and answered for a month, Li Mao said: "It's too hurried, this is not in a hurry, this kind of programmatic thing must be precise and feasible, and it must not be frizzy." However, the stone fort and the warehouse that guarded the entrance to the mine could be built immediately. "I also asked how long it will take for these two projects to be completed."

Gao Bing made a silent calculation in his heart and replied, "Five hundred, eight months." ”

Li Mao said: "Eight months is too long, I want you to finish it in five months, and I will transfer another 1,500 people to you." The project should be built according to the highest standards, and this is the heart of my Liaodong in iron armor, and it must not be sloppy. ”

Li Mao asked Zheng Pei how many people there were in Tortoiseshell Mountain, and Zheng Pei replied: "There are 500 garrisons, 300 craftsmen, 1,080 military dependents, and 4,080 ordinary workers, which is increasing at a rate of 800 people a month." ”

Li Mao said: "Operation Ox Knife is over in two months, and it is calculated that this place of Turtle Mountain will be stationed with 10,000 people in the future, and the five states we plan do not seem to be enough, so how about adding another state here?"

Zheng Pei said with a smile: "The tree is a big wind, don't want to be famous." ”

Li Mao smiled, the topic of adding states and counties ends here, the garrison is 10,000, and there must be a general to command, Li Mao wants to ask Zheng Pei for an official position, since he doesn't care about himself, Li Mao will also extinguish this idea.

Zheng Pei is right, after the establishment of Dongzhou and Gaozhou, the hostility of all parties towards him is unprecedentedly high, Li Mao has ordered the suspension of the establishment of the state, of course, it is still necessary to set up counties in places where the conditions are ripe, first lay a solid foundation, and wait for the opportunity.

Before Li Mao returned to Gaozhou, he convened a meeting of military and political generals stationed in Kiekashan, clarified the position of Zheng Xiaozhang's supreme military and political chief, clarified Zheng Pei's position as the supreme technical chief, promoted Hu Nanxiang to the envoy of the Kiejiashan Town and City Bureau, assisted Zheng Xiaozhang in handling local government affairs, and transferred an additional battalion of the 2nd Division and a battalion of the 3rd Division to be stationed in Kiecoshan.

With coal and iron, the issuance of salt and iron coupons suddenly doubled this year, and shrewd businessmen found that the use of salt and iron coupons was not only very light and convenient, but also economically beneficial.

There is more than one salt and iron courtyard in Liaodong, and you can withdraw cash at any time in each salt and iron courtyard, and you can exchange the salt and iron you need wherever you go with a salt and iron coupon in your arms, which saves the pain of transportation and the risk of being robbed, which is really convenient.

And the shrewd businessmen soon discovered a secret hidden in the salt and iron coupons, they calculated an account, assuming that the market price of five sheepskins for a pound of good steel, five sheepskins for copper three taels, a pound of salt and iron coupons for a pound of steel, but only two taels of copper can be bought.

In this way, it is much more cost-effective to first use sheepskin to exchange copper, then use copper to replace salt and iron coupons, and then use coupons to exchange for iron.

After knowing this trick, the salt iron roll is no longer an ordinary deposit receipt, it suddenly has its own ** value, it can be separated from the salt and iron ** existence of separate circulation, under the endorsement of smart businessmen for more people to accept, no one is worried that the salt iron coupon will explode to worthless, because no one can live without iron and salt, as long as the salt and iron yard exists, its value will not be shaken.

The salt and iron courtyard in Liaodong is being built more and more, the scale is getting bigger and bigger, and the reputation is getting better and better.

The backer of the Salt and Iron Yuan is the Liaodong Jinglue Mansion, and the backer of the Jinglue Mansion is the Anton Army, the Andong Army has a strength of 100,000, they successfully expelled the Khitans, and they are already the overlords in Liaodong, their position is unshakable, and they have a more powerful backer Datang.

"The advantage of this thing is that we can appropriately adjust the supply and demand of market materials and prices according to our needs, obtain the materials we need at a very low cost, and can also solve the urgent need when the turnover at hand is not working, the method is very simple is to print white tickets to fill water, but pay attention to the balance, don't flood the gold mountain to drown yourself." Li Mao announced the intention of the salt and iron coupons he strongly promoted at the core decision-making group, and everyone only now understood that it was possible to turn paper into gold and use other people's things for free.

"Each salt and iron coupon must have my handwritten signature, Shucheng, Xiaozhang, Mucang and Zeng Zhen, all of them are indispensable, each salt and iron coupon must be stamped with the seal of the Salt and Iron Institute, the Ministry of Economic and Social Affairs and the Economic and Strategic Envoy, set up a unique number and anti-counterfeiting mark, the number and anti-counterfeiting mark by Zeng Zhen on the throne for the record, for the division to read and query."

After Li Mao's words were finished, all the participants cast a flattering glance at the female assistant in the study. It seems that if you want to do something in the future, you must pass her first.

...