In Li Yanzhi's cognition, it is the proper meaning not to include a technical backbone like Li Liang in the promotion and debasement. He thought in his heart, even if he took all the rest of the craftsmen in the workshop away right now, he didn't feel heartache. But if Li Liang holds a grudge because of improper promotion and debasement, he will either be passive and slack off, or he will leave. The impact on the workshop in Lingju County is devastating.

This highly skilled technical backbone is honed through decades of working experience. If Li Liang was not there, Li Yanzhi would never have been able to immediately find a technical backbone who could replace Li Liang in a short period of time. As a result, the efficiency of the workshop in Lingju County or the quality of the finished product will be greatly reduced. This is an immeasurable loss that can be avoided for Li Yanzhi, a person who is racing against time.

Now that the method of filling steel has been established, the first thing to bear the brunt of is the creation of new ordnance armor. Regarding this point, Li Yanzhi will not be ambiguous at all. Anyway, the workshop had already used the pig iron sold by the county government to build enough farming tools and supply the county's homeless people who had reclaimed the wasteland. Autumn sowing is also coming to an end. Therefore, it is almost logical to use these mass-produced steels to build armor weapons.

As a county soldier, Lingju County's main business is to guard the county seat, and the sideline business is to prevent security and theft. Among the weapons equipped by the army, there is a lack of powerful long-range projection weapons and long-pole weapons. Most of the weapons of the soldiers are ring-headed knives. Even if a few of the teams carried bows and arrows, they were all soft bows that could not shoot far. When they were in the Jincheng camp before, this county soldier had already exposed this serious problem.

The distance is not powerful, and there is no spear and knife when it is close. When it really reached the point where they were fighting to the death with their swords drawn in front of each other, these county soldiers couldn't fight those fierce Huns at all. Even if it is on the camp wall and occupies a favorable position, it is often two or three people to change the opposite one. The population of the county is not large, and if there is another war, this ratio of war losses is almost completely unacceptable.

To change this situation, it is imperative to reorganize the armament. Anyway, it is now possible to mass-produce high-quality steel with enough carbon content, so it is only natural to reorganize the armament and forge armor and swords.

Xin Yan got some benefits from the horse trafficking, and Li Yanzhi was also respectful to him. Personal vanity also gets some small satisfaction, and there are benefits to take. In addition, before coming to Lingju, his uncle Xin Fei's advice to him made him basically not ask about Li Yanzhi's arrangements.

Anyway, now that the county government is in trouble, the generals who were also brought by Li Yanzhi to play guest roles as scribes are arranged in an orderly manner under his command. The fart is big and a small county, and the gangsters are just qualified, who can toss how much movement!

Xin Yan willingly became a hands-off shopkeeper here, although this move was also in line with Li Yanzhi's wishes, but he did not get carried away. No matter what action he wanted to do, he would report to Xin Yan in every detail. After all, Xin Fei sent his cronies and nephews to Lingju as the county commander, in addition to assisting him and letting the local scholars in Lingju throw rat traps, it is not a kind of surveillance and prevention!

After all, although Xin Fei is slightly lacking in governance, if he can achieve the position of a county magistrate, how can he be a good stubble at the mercy of others! Previously, Li Yanzhi's status was low, although he was talented, but serving in the county soldiers was convenient for Xin Fei to control, and he could be commanded by his arm.

However, sent out to lead the soldiers of a county, Zhang County Ling had a headache about the complicated affairs in the county, and abandoned the official and left. Li Yanzhi has such courage to take over all the affairs of the county and sort them out in an orderly manner, how can this kind of determination and courage make others not be guarded? Although he still seems to be deferential on the surface, but if he grows in his wings and his tail is too big to fall, how will he deal with it?

Although Xin Yan sent his nephew Xin Yan, he had this layer of precaution and surveillance. However, Li Yanzhi's heart is like a mirror, and he also sees this situation clearly. In getting along with Xin Yan, whether it is a personal relationship or a business business, it is all respectful. also made Xin Yan gradually feel at ease with him. In addition, Li Yanzhi took over the affairs of the county government until now. The benefits sought are also shared with Xin Yan. In this way, Xin couldn't find any problems. Li Yanzhimen hugged the big tree of the Xin family clearly, which was not only good for enjoying the shade, but also convenient for his own actions, why not?

Now that the steel production is sufficient, Li Yanzhi began to think about what kind of sophisticated and powerful weapons he equipped with for the county soldiers under his command. After thinking about it, I felt that in addition to equipping some low-cost spears, I could also equip a heavy infantry with weapons such as two-handed long knives and iron armor.

In ancient times, the battle of the great formations was fought, and any class of troops had its fatal death holes. The crossbowmen are long-range projectors, and their lethality is extremely ferocious. But if you get close to the enemy, they are a flock of lambs to the slaughter. Light infantry is highly mobile and is especially good at fighting in mountainous and hilly areas. However, the protection is weak, and the attack power is very limited.

Although the light cavalry can run thousands of miles and has unmatched mobility, it is relatively too dependent on long-range lethality. Once you encounter a heavy armor spearman on a frontal battlefield, you will be helpless. Only by changing the tactics of warfare and pinning hopes on a strategic mobile strike aimed at the enemy's logistical supply can we have some hope of victory.

As for the armored cavalry, a tactical arm that emerged in this era, Li Yanzhi recognized its power. However, the limitations are also very large. First of all, the speed of armored horses is limited. Horses need to wear heavy iron armor, and the knight on horseback is also an impenetrable iron armor, which is majestic, but this horse can't bear the weight of five or six hundred catties in this era! (two jin one catty two hundred and twenty grams).

Under this weight, this armored cavalry would charge three or four times if it died, and then it would stop. The heavy armored cavalry without horsepower, that is, dismounted and lined up as a heavy infantry to use it as a make-or-do one. And the way to deal with this kind of heavy cavalry is also simple and rude. By using a hedgehog-like spear formation, training a disciplined, fearless pikemen, like an arm-commanded pikeman, who can always discharge a tight formation in the direction of these heavy cavalry charges, this armored cavalry will be restrained to death.

And if several charges are unsuccessful, these cavalry horsepower is exhausted, waiting for them is either a crossbow strike, or the enemy's multi-arm combination of killing. If there is still a light cavalry on the opposite side that can fight, then the fate of these ironclad knights is almost doomed.

Although the Lingju county soldiers were mostly stationed at the head of the city, even in the face of the enemy. However, Li Yanzhi wanted to make all these things one by one. Even if it will not be used for a while, whether it is weapons or tactics, or the grassroots generals and soldiers in the army who have received corresponding training, they are all valuable assets.

Make up your mind and do it. Li Yanzhi did not hesitate to find straw paper and drew a few patterns of weapons. In later generations, he himself will be a fan of the hardcore army, and he will naturally be no stranger to these means of riding on foot in the ancient army. Let's not talk about the spear, which everyone knows. Bladed Tang knives that can be chopped and stabbed, Mo knives, mountain opening axes with spear tips at the front end, hook sickle spears, and horse chopping swords...... At one time, they once played a sharp weapon in history for agricultural civilization to ride on foot.

Li Yanzhi thought about it carefully, and finally chose the long-pole Zhuzhi Tang knife style, as well as the mountain opening axe. Considering that the attack range of the big axe is slightly shorter, and the use of iron is heavy. Non-wrestlers are not enough to control, and Li Yanzhi himself prefers to use the style of the long-bladed knife.

Although the blades are called knives, the spine at the front end is machined and thinner, and the tip at the front is also polished into a sword shape, maintaining the shape of the blade, inheriting the advantages of the cutting edge of the horizontal blade that is durable and resistant to slashing, and at the same time taking into account the stabbing ability of the blade. When facing ironclad targets, it can almost be said that he is more at ease.

Even in the face of enemy armoured cavalry charges, these long knives can be formed in close formations by heavy infantry, and then emulate a series of dense knife formations modeled after gun formations. Even if a heavily armored cavalry in heavy armor collided with these walls of sharp blades, it would never be pleased!

Even if they faced the enemy in this way, most of the soldiers in the front row would be hit by heavy cavalry to a certain extent because the blade was not long enough, and they were even likely to kill 3,000 enemies and lose 800 themselves. But if you fight, where can you not die! Heavy infantry used such long knives as weapons, which were obviously superior to simple spears or heavy axes. First of all, this long knife has an even force point, and it is unlikely that it will be difficult to control the heavy axe, and secondly, this long knife can be cut and stabbed, which can not only deal with the enemy's heavy cavalry and light cavalry, but also deal with the enemy's various infantry without falling behind.

It seems that this thing, except for the expensive cost, there is nothing wrong with it. Li Yanzhi drew a few sketches with a pencil, and hurriedly rushed back to the county government to grab the brush, sketched again, focusing on the shape of the weapon, and then took these sketches and went to the workshop excitedly, preparing to hand over this task to Li Liang to try it out.

Li Liang is now a well-known figure in the workshop. Since the implementation of the steel filling law, Li Yanzhi has prepared a monthly case of money and rice for the craftsmen in the workshop, announced the reward and punishment system, and made it clear that Li Liang will not be included in the demotion system of rewards and punishments because of his great contributions. On the one hand, it kills those who have ambitions to replace Li Liang from the position of head craftsman, and also conveys a message to everyone: Li Liang is the most important person in this workshop, at least among blacksmiths!

These days, everyone is also talking about it. Especially I heard that Li Liang's youngest son was also picked by Li Sima to be in the county government and made an errand boy. In the county government, even if they are petty officials and quick servants, in the eyes of these craftsmen who have been working hard in the past, they are all big people who can't be provoked. For a while, everyone talked about Li Liang's good life, and he was able to get Li Sima's blue eyes. For a while, even if there were all kinds of resentment, they didn't dare to show it in front of Li Liang.

Driven by this realistic situation, Li Liang today has a fluttering feeling. Although for the various tasks arranged by Li Yanzhi, he still energetically led many craftsmen in the workshop to complete them on time and in quantity. But now that he is about to be praised to the sky, Li Liang's heart will inevitably have some changes.

Li Yanzhi called Li Liang to a secluded place in the workshop, and then showed the drawings he had drawn to Li Liang for a look. Including the cross-sectional drawing of the bladed long knife that he hastily drew for the blades. Li Yanzhi also understands a little about the method of steel clamping mentioned in the Tang knife process. It is made of hard, carbon-rich steel as the material of the blade, and after forging these steels, wrought iron with better flexibility is sandwiched in them. It is then heated and forged to make a knife body.

Although this kind of forging is time-consuming, laborious and labor-intensive. However, the qualitative change in the quality of the sword is also obvious. This knife is sharp and strong, and because the blade is covered with wrought iron, the flexibility is also sufficient. Even if the cavalry slashed on a horse, the knife was not easily bent and broken by the force of the impact. Li Yanzhi has always believed that even if a sturdy and durable weapon is expensive, its value on the battlefield far exceeds its own cost.

Li Liang carefully looked at the drawings, detailed data such as the length and width of the knife blade, and asked Li Yanzhi about some matters that need to be paid attention to to make this knife. Li Yanzhi prepared two plans for the long-bladed knives. One of them is that the entire knife is made of steel and iron. The second is to use the ash rod used for the long gun as a knife shaft. And asked Li Liang to calculate in detail how much steel is needed as raw materials for each of these two schemes. In order to calculate in detail how much money this knife will cost.

Li Liang deserves to be the chief blacksmith in the workshop. After inspecting it visually and inquiring about the data of the knife, he first calculated that if the whole knife was made of steel, a knife would cost about sixty-five pounds of iron. Among them, thirteen catties of steel are needed to make the blade, eight catties of wrought iron, and forty-four catties of pig iron or wrought iron are required to cast the blade! These raw materials, plus the cost of man-hours, etc., cost no less than a thousand dollars!

And the wooden pole knife can save a lot of money. Thirteen catties of steel, eight catties of wrought iron, and the ash rod can also be used directly by intercepting one section. This is compared to the man-hours required to manufacture an iron blade. The cost of a wooden pole knife is simply insignificant! One hardcore knife can make three wooden knives!

After weighing it, Li Yanzhi finally chose to make a wooden pole long knife. After all, with the current financial situation of the county government, it is necessary to arm the county soldiers, even if it is this kind of wooden pole knife, it will not be able to make too much. After all, it takes time and effort to build this knife. Although Li Yanzhi decided that the role of this knife on the battlefield would exceed his cost. But who thinks that what he did was the right choice?