Just do it, under Pang Yue's full expectation and the strong curiosity of the rest of the people, the staff office and the teaching camp entered the intensive preparations. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

Zhang Yunli and Tian Shizun began to select suitable staff officers in the battalions. According to Pang Yue's plan, the targets of recruitment are those officers and soldiers who are active in their minds and have outstanding performance in peacetime, even if they are a little flamboyant, it doesn't matter, that is, they don't want those pure reckless men who are brave and unscrupulous.

I heard that I went to work next to the chief soldier and could enjoy some additional benefits, and many officers and even non-commissioned officers were eager to try it. However, only 20 people were recruited in the first batch, and the fierceness of the competition can be imagined. Zhang Yunli and Tian Shizun visited various battalions and units for about six or seven days, checked the records of meritorious service, and listened to the opinions of the commanders of various departments, and finally finalized 20 candidates after eliminating countless people. Of these, 17 were middle- and lower-ranking officers, most of whom held deputy positions in the original battalion. Among the remaining three, one of them is a chief, and the other two are Wu Chang, and being able to stand out in such a fierce competition has fully demonstrated their own excellence. So, after being selected for the General Staff Office, these three people were directly awarded the title of Flag General by Pang Yue, which made the other soldiers covetous, and even a little depressed.

Wang Zhangtang is one of these depressed people. After learning that Pang Yue was going to recruit a staff officer, although he didn't know what a staff officer was for, he also estimated that he would definitely be promoted after being selected, so he ran to Mao Sui to recommend himself, but he was eliminated in the first round. Just when Wang Zhangtang was indignant, a good news came: he had been selected to go to the training camp for training, and after the training period, he would be given priority promotion. At this time, Wang Zhangtang turned his worries into joy.

In order to prepare for the teaching camp, Pang Yue also put a lot of thought into it, and specially rented a large mansion in the city as a "training base" for the teaching camp. The training battalion set up cavalry, infantry, firearms, civil engineering, logistics and supply sections, and the training period was set for three months. The number of the first batch of cadets was set at 300, and they were selected from among the officers and men who had made meritorious contributions in battle. One hundred of them were officers and were assigned to the officers' training corps. The remaining 200 people were non-commissioned officers and were assigned to the "non-commissioned officer training team". At the end of the training period, those who pass the training will be given priority promotion.

In fact, Pang Yue, who has always been self-aware, knows very well in his heart that the teaching camp he runs is extremely simple, and from the perspective of future generations, I am afraid that it can only be described by indecent words such as "leather bag company" and "pheasant school". But there is no way, the conditions are limited, everything can only be started from scratch. As a traveler, Pang Yue is well aware of the importance of military academies to an army, and only by establishing a sound military academy system can we continuously provide qualified officers for the army and pass on all kinds of military ideas. Since the current conditions are limited, let's start with the military short course.

However, things are far from being as simple as Pang Yue thought. It can be said that the vast majority of the officers and soldiers who came for training were illiterate, so most of the instructors who gave the lectures could only speak orally. Therefore, Pang Yue issued another order: The instructors of the training battalion added a half-hour shift every night to teach those officers and soldiers who could not read to read. At this time, many officers and soldiers began to make difficulties. These big bosses and coarse people, let them go into battle to kill the enemy, no one has a word, but to make them read and write with Mr. like a little doll, it is really more uncomfortable than beating them. In this regard, Pang Yue also adopted the countermeasure of carrots and sticks, stipulating: After three months, all officers and soldiers who do not know 500 words will be removed from all medals, officers will be demoted by one rank, and non-commissioned officers will be directly dismissed. Officers and soldiers who have completed the literacy task can receive additional "scholarships" according to the number of words. In this way, the people's hearts were gradually stabilized. …,

On this day, after going to the school field and the teaching camp for a few laps, Pang Yue came to the Ordnance Bureau again. After more than half a year of development, the Ordnance Bureau has added a lot of craftsmen from other places, and its production capacity and efficiency have been greatly improved. During this time, the Ordnance Bureau had already begun to produce something that Pang Yue had dreamed of for a long time - artillery.

After coming to the Ordnance Bureau, Pang Yue first went to the newly built artillery workshop. The entire artillery workshop is composed of several "workshops" according to the process of molding, casting, etc., and has an independent blast furnace, and the high-quality iron produced by the iron factory is also preferentially supplied here. For this reason, Pang Yue spent a lot of silver.

As soon as he entered, Pang Yue saw that Qin Shiyong, the head craftsman in charge of casting cannons, was directing a large group of craftsmen to be busy, and Margio was also on the side, using the half-baked Chinese combined with gestures to put forward his own opinions. Although Qin Shiyong listened with great difficulty, he was attracted by Margio's thoughts from time to time, and nodded again and again.

Qin Shiyong is in his early forties, a native of Zhejiang, his ancestors have been cannon casting craftsmen for several generations, and his father also worked in the Beijing Ordnance Bureau and cast cannons for the Shenji Battalion. Influenced by the family environment, Qin Shiyong also mastered the skillful casting technology, and once became the deputy master of firearms in Panshiwei, Zhejiang. Later, because of a trivial incident that offended the commander's brother-in-law, Qin Shiyong fled with his family overnight for fear of retribution, and happened to meet Pang Yue who led the army south on the road. At that time, seeing that Pang Yue intended to recruit and the conditions proposed were also very generous, Qin Shiyong joined the team of craftsmen in Ganzhou Town.

"Old Qin, Mr. Margio, are you busy?" Pang Yue walked over and said with a smile.

"Hello General!" Margio smiled and bowed.

"Oh, it turned out to be an adult!" After Qin Shiyong heard Pang Yue's voice, he turned around in surprise and was about to salute. For Pang Yue, Qin Shiyong is sincerely grateful, since he worked for Ganzhou Town, he has received more than ten years of work in more than half a year, not only that, but his seven-year-old son is no longer rejected from the school because of his background, and now he can memorize the three-character scripture. Thinking of this, Qin Shiyong could wake up laughing even from a dream.

Pang Yue hurriedly stepped forward to support Qin Shiyong and said, "Old Qin, didn't I say it?" In the future, you don't have to be so polite when you work! ”

"Adults are broad-minded, but small ones don't dare to break the rules!" Qin Shiyong said respectfully.

Pang Yue smiled and waved his hand: "Don't mention this, how is the cannon casting going?" ”

As soon as he talked about casting cannons, Qin Shiyong came to the spirit: "With Lord Lao's previous arrangements and the assistance of Master Ma, everything is quite smooth!" In particular, the iron mold casting cannon method proposed by the adults is really hard for ordinary people to think of! When we put this method into practice, the results we achieved were incredible! ”

"Really?" Pang Yue smiled with satisfaction. This iron mold casting method was specially given to Qin Shiyong and other cannon casting craftsmen before he left for Ji'an last time. Of course, this method is not Pang Yue's original, although he studied engineering in his previous life, he has nothing to do with the military industry.

The iron mold casting cannon method was invented by Gong Zhenlin of Jiaxing County, Zhejiang Province during the Opium War in the 19th century. As the name suggests, the iron mold is cast first, and then the iron mold is used to cast the cannon. When casting the mold, first use the dry Nanmu or shirt wood according to the shape of the cannon body to make a wooden core and add a wooden mold with cannon lugs and hoops, and then make a mud mold according to the actual pound and length of the gun, and then cast a whole set of iron cannon molds according to the clay mold section by section, and turn over the whole set of iron cannon molds that are fitted layer by layer according to the clay mold. After the iron mold is cast, the cannon can be cast. When casting the cannon, the inner surface of each iron mold is cleaned first, and then the two petals are closed and clamped tightly, and the iron mold of each section is combined to form the shape of the cannon. After doing this, two coats of paint are applied to the inner surface of the iron mold. The first layer is a coating made of fine rice husk ash and fine sand mud mixed with water, and the second layer of paint made of very fine pulverized coal is applied after the first layer is dry. After drying, you can start casting the cannon with the pre-prepared gun core. …,

Compared with the clay mold casting method and the lost wax casting method that were popular in the late Ming Dynasty, the iron mold casting method can be said to have a revolutionary progress. If the cannon is cast with a clay mold, it not only takes a long time, but also has honeycombs and exposed eyes on the cast cannon, and the pass rate is very low. In addition, the made clay mold can not be reused like the iron mold, a clay mold can only cast a cannon, after casting will be destroyed, will cause a waste of funds. As for the lost wax casting method, although it has the advantage of not limiting the gas saving compared with the mud mold method, it still takes a long time and the pass rate is still very low.

In fact, Pang Yue can't remember some specific details about the iron mold casting method, but he only knows the general process. But Qin Shiyong and other craftsmen were experts, and after listening to Pang Yue, they quickly knew the mystery.

"That's right, sir!" Qin Shiyong nodded excitedly, "Now, the craftsmen have cast two sets of iron cannon molds, and cast two ...... that Lord Ma said" Under the excitement, the name of the cannon can't be remembered clearly.

Fortunately, Margio quickly understood what Qin Shiyong meant, and said in a stiff Chinese interface: "A pound cannon!" ”

"Good!" Hearing that two cannons had been cast, Pang Yue was overjoyed, "Take me to see it!" ”

"Okay, my lord, please!"

So, Pang Yue went to the warehouse behind the workshop under the leadership of Qin Shiyong. After seeing the two one-pound cannons, Pang Yue's excitement was even more irrepressible. Artillery, in this era, is a veritable king of war, once Ganzhou Town is equipped with a large number of artillery, it will undergo earth-shaking changes in combat effectiveness.

In addition to being happy, Pang Yue remembered one more thing, and Chao Margio asked, "Mr. Margio, will you cast the Hongyi Cannon?" ”

At this time, Carlos had also rushed over and acted as an interpreter by Pang Yue's side, translating Pang Yue's question to Margio one by one.

Margio scratched his head and said, "I've been involved in casting before, and although there are many processes that are unfamiliar for a while, if you think about it, you will definitely remember it." ”

Is it? Pang Yue's eyes suddenly lit up, and he said, "Then Mr. Margio should think about it, once we can forge our own Hongyi cannon, we can blast Jiannu into pulp!" ”

After listening to Pang Yue's words, Margio shrugged his shoulders and said disapprerovingly: "General, your concept is completely wrong! ”

"Why?"

"Cannon casting is not something that can be done by one person, but the result of the hard work and wisdom of a large number of workers," Margio said. The workers under your command are all good, and I am touched by their diligence and responsibility. However, they are not very skilled in technology, and only by slowly exercising in actual production, starting with the smallest one-pound guns and three-pound guns, and constantly groping, can they obtain technical improvements. In this way, you can gradually forge a higher-pound six-pounder cannon, a nine-pounder cannon, and so on, and then the eighteen-pounder Hongyi cannon that you want, general! ”

Hearing Margio say this, Pang Yue's excitement was extinguished a lot, but he still affirmed Margio's credit: "Well, I know. Mr. Margio, I will not forget your credit, and I will need you to guide the craftsmen in this cannon casting matter in the future! You must know that only by casting excellent artillery can you get a powerful artillery, and strong artillery plays a vital role in the victory or defeat of the war. I remember that one of your great commanders said that a good commander should use his artillery as easily as his sword. ”

Margio thought for a while, but he didn't figure out who this "great commander" was, but he still agreed with Pang Yue's point of view: "General, you are so right! Since I came to Daming, I have never seen a general who has such a deep understanding of artillery as you! ”

Just as Pang Yue was about to say a few words of modesty, Margio spoke again: "However, general, there is one thing I am very dissatisfied with you! ”

"Oh? What's up? Pang Yue asked curiously.

"About the medal!" Margio's face was serious: "I also participated in the last battle, and it was under my guidance that the artillery hit the commander of the barbarian!" And you didn't even award me a medal after the war! As an honorable officer, I am entitled to the medal I deserve! ”