When I stepped out of the carriage and looked up. 【Full text reading】What is imprinted in Xiao Mo's eyes is a huge courtyard, the inside is bright, the sound is boiling, although it looks quite dilapidated, it is lively at the moment.

Obviously, this is the Ordnance Department that Xiao Mo will be responsible for in the future.

At this moment, the Ordnance Division, which has been idle for too many years, is busy day and night, without a moment of idleness.

As early as when Xiao Mo's carriage came to the Ordnance Department hundreds of zhang away, Xiao Mo and Tang Lei's arrival was already known by the officials in the Ordnance Department, when Xiao Mo and Tang Lei stepped off the carriage, they saw a group of officials from the Ordnance Department, and greeted the two of them in a mighty manner.

"Lord Tang, you are here, and the lower officials have been waiting for you for a long time......

The official at the head had only said half of his flattering words before he was interrupted impatiently by Tang Lei. Pointing at Xiao Mo and said: "Lord Meng, this palace came today, but it is to introduce you to the newly appointed Zhongshu Provincial Frugal and Honest Official, Chongzheng Palace, and Ordnance Supervisor, Lord Xiao Moxiao, the new champion of the new department, he will be your official in the future, why don't you come to visit?" ”

That Lord Meng couldn't help but be stunned, obviously he had just heard about it, and hurriedly bowed to Xiao Mo and said, "It turned out to be Lord Xiao, the lower officials have heard the name of Lord Xiao for a long time, and seeing it today is enough to be relieved." ”

For this kind of person who seems to only be able to slap the horse. Xiao Mo didn't like it, but he couldn't say he liked it, he just nodded with a smile and said, "This official is new here, and I still need more help from Master Meng in the future." ”

Seeing Xiao Mo's polite attitude, Lord Meng showed a flattered look on his face, bowed to Xiao Mo and said, "It should be, it should be, this is a matter within the official position, and Lord Xiao doesn't need to be polite."

Tang Lei next to him frowned and said sternly: "In the future, the Ordnance Department will be fully responsible for Lord Xiao, what Lord Xiao said is equivalent to the words of this official, and the Ordnance Department must not be violated, understand?" The tone was stern, and it was obvious that Tang Lei was very unkind to this Lord Meng.

After admonishing this Master Meng, Tang Lei pulled Xiao Mo aside again, and said in a low voice: "Zirou, your idea just now helped the old man a lot, and there will be a big reward in the future, but the acquisition of bow hunting in various places is extremely troublesome and takes a long time, I have to go back to deal with this matter now, so I won't accompany you in, you can handle the matter here, if someone dares to go against your will, you can send someone to tell the old man, and the old man will come to make the decision for you." Xiao Mo nodded with a smile and said, "Thank you, Lord Tang." Tang Lei shook his head with a smile and said, "Zirou has done the old man a great favor, it should be the old man who is more than Zirou." With that, Tang Lei and Xiao Mo exchanged a few polite words, and then left in a hurry.

And Xiao Mo, with the support of Master Meng and the others, walked towards the Ordnance Division. "This official has just arrived here, and he hasn't asked for the name of Lord Meng yet, why doesn't Lord Meng introduce himself to this official?" Xiao Mo walked towards the Ordnance Division, and turned his head to the Master Meng and said.

Master Meng's face once again showed a look of flattery. He replied respectfully: "Lord Hui, the official name is Meng Gan, and he is currently the head of the Ordnance Department, because the Ordnance Department was an idle position before, but few people are willing to come here to serve, so the position of Ordnance Superintendent has always been vacant." And the lower official has been managing this ordnance department for more than ten years, and he still understands this ordnance department. Hearing Meng Gan's words, Na Mo couldn't help but be slightly stunned.

Seeing that this Meng Gan is only in his thirties, he has been serving as the chief of the Ordnance Department for more than ten years. Doesn't that mean that since Meng Gan was in his twenties, he has been serving in this ordnance department?

What made Xiao Mo even more strange was that according to the practice of the Chu Dynasty, even if it was an official with a low position, as long as he had no merit in five consecutive evaluations. can move up one level, and Meng Gan is useless. More than ten years have passed, and it should at least be promoted to the second or third level, why did he stay in the position of the head of the Ordnance Department of the Eighth Rank for more than ten years without any movement?

As if discovering Xiao Mo's doubts, Meng Gan explained with a wry smile: "Xiaguan's grandparents were born in a craftsman household, limited by qualifications, and only obtained the fame of lifting their sons, so the officials of the Ministry have not paid attention to the lower officials. Hearing Meng Gan's explanation, Xiao Mo was thoughtful.

However, after all, this is the characteristic of the entire Chu Dynasty, but Xiao Mo didn't say much about it, but after Meng Gan entered the Ordnance Division, he kept looking at the Ordnance Division in front of him According to Xiao Mo's estimate, this Ordnance Division covers an area of at least hundreds of acres, and I saw that although it was getting dark at the moment, the entire Ordnance Division was still full of people, and countless craftsmen were busy making strong bows and crossbows.

For Xiao Mo, who was supported by countless officials of the Ordnance Division, these craftsmen just glanced at it in a hurry. Then he did it himself, with an indifferent expression, but no curiosity.

Xiao Mo made a rough estimate, but found that along the way, at least hundreds of craftsmen were busy making bows and crossbows.

Xiao Mo hesitated slightly, then asked: "Lord Meng, this official is not proficient in the manufacture of bows and arrows, what materials are needed for this bow and arrow, and what steps are needed to make it, can Lord Meng explain it to the official a little?" After hearing Xiao Mo's words, Meng Gan's expression flashed with disappointment, obviously Xiao Mo, who didn't even know how to make bows and arrows, was actually serving as an ordnance supervisor and was responsible for the bows and arrows needed to build the front, and he was not optimistic. But in the blink of an eye, Meng Gan's face returned to a flattering look, and he explained to Xiao Mo with a smile: "Lord Hui, the most important thing in the manufacture of this strong bow is four materials, one is bamboo, which needs to be selected to be used in a strong and sturdy one, and the bow body is made with it; The second is the horns, a bow should use two horns, which can only be selected in pairs of roughly equivalent length; the third is the cow tendon, but it can only be taken from the tendon on the back of the cow close to the backbone of the cow and used to make the bow tendon; The four are whales, mostly fish whales or pig whales, but they are used to glue the bow body. And make a strong bow. In addition to the seeds for the various materials, it is necessary to combine them with each other, which requires a total of five steps if you ignore all the details. ”

Xiao Mo nodded thoughtfully, but asked again: "May I ask Master Meng again, in the arsenal of the armory, are all kinds of materials enough?" How many craftsmen in the Ordnance Division can make bows and crossbows now? And how long does it take for each craftsman to make a strong bow? ”

Meng Gan replied: "Lord Hui, although there is no war in these easterners, according to the custom, all kinds of bamboo, horns, and tendons collected by the people will be transferred to the Ordnance Department every year.

But in my ordnance department, there are not many craftsmen who can make bows and arrows, although they have been hastily scraped these days, but there are only seven hundred people who are capable of making strong bows, and these people are skilled. It takes about a day to make a strong bow, but most people, because they train in a hurry, are extremely slow and take a lot longer. At the current rate, our Ordnance Division can produce about 500 strong bows per day......"

Speaking of this, Meng Gan hesitated slightly, then gritted his teeth and said: "However, the manufacture of these bows is uneven, and according to the two stone strong bows required by the Eight Sages King, there is still a certain gap.

However, in the opinion of the following officials, when defending the city, the archers all stood on the city wall, and the terrain was superior. Plus my army of Great Chu...... There is no strong point in the bow and arrow, so there is actually no difference between a one-stone bow and a two-stone bow, so this situation has not been reported, and I ask for your forgiveness. ”

After hearing Meng Gan's words, Xiao Mo glanced at him in surprise, firstly, he didn't expect that this person who seemed to only be able to slap horses could answer the situation of the Ordnance Department like fluently, obviously not the mediocre official that Xiao Mo thought, and secondly, he didn't expect Meng Gan to have such insight.

So, Xiao Mo couldn't help but be a little polite to Meng Gan's attitude, nodded and said: "Indeed, as Lord Meng said, when defending the city, the enemy rushed up, for my Great Chu army, there is indeed no difference between a stone bow and a second stone bow, hehe, I am afraid that in my Great Chu army, there are soldiers who can pull two stone bows." It wasn't much. Master Meng, it is good that you can make such achievements in such an environment. ”

Hearing that Xiao Mo actually had such a low evaluation of the Chu Dynasty's army, Meng Gan couldn't help but be slightly stunned.

But what Xiao Mo said next made him happy.

"Next, the Ordnance Department will be responsible for the official, the military situation ahead is urgent, the manufacture of this strong bow crossbow cart must be stepped up, and I hope that Lord Meng can fully cooperate with the official and wait for the day of success. This official will inevitably ask Lord Meng for a reward in front of His Majesty. ”

After hearing Xiao Mo's words, Meng Gan was very happy, he had been working in the position of the head of the Ordnance Department for more than ten years, but because of his background, he had no way to be promoted, and Xiao Mo's words finally made him see hope, how could he not be excited?

"The great kindness of the adults, the officials are grateful, and they will do their best to do things for the adults in the future. Liver and brain smeared on the ground. ”

For Meng Gan's loyalty, Xiao Mo smiled slightly. But he didn't answer, and was just about to say his idea of assembly line work, but suddenly found something, and his body couldn't help but shake slightly, and he let out a light "huh".