Chapter 24: Fu Zhong

Ministry of Industry Warehouse.

A director of the Ministry of Works opened the large iron lock on the warehouse door.

When the door was opened, a layer of dust filled the air.

A group of more than a dozen people left a few people outside. The director of the Ministry of Engineering went in with He Xi, and after He Xi entered, he only felt that his eyes were dark. After a while, I saw everything in front of me. Among the seven storerooms, large mahogany chests are stacked on top of each other. A few people took down the mahogany chest. After opening, a pair of armor opened in front of He Xi.

He Xi looked a little strange.

It's a cloth face armor.

In He Xi's view, this armor is actually an intermediate form of cotton armor and iron armor. Or cotton armor without cotton. There are probably more than 100 pieces of armor in a cloth armor. There are also layers of leather woven together, looking at the cumbersome weaving lines. He Xi also knew that it was very strong.

However, these nails are lined with a heavy layer of cotton. Or rather, the outer lining. Nail it with round nails. In this way, it is possible to avoid the shortcomings of the armor, which is too bulky. In order to ensure that there is no vacancy, it is as if the armor will be pressed one layer at a time. There are a lot of nail pieces overlapping and there is extra weight.

Nowadays, the layout of the armor such as the cloth armor allows the armor to be completely spread. So the weight is reduced. The defense has not weakened much.

It's just that there is a problem with the armor made in this way, that is, the problem of rivets, one by one, on the side of the cloth, if the cloth is included, these rivets will be facing the skin, the sour taste, needless to say. Therefore, the ancient craftsmen finished a small trick, that is, to face the cloth outward. The armor is inward. No, it's fine.

And this armor went to the north, probably for the need to protect against the cold. Add cotton to the canvas. It became a cotton armor.

Of course, there are other changes to the cotton armor, so I won't talk about it here.

He Xi didn't stay in a warehouse too much. He looked at the samples more and then determined the number of various weapons, which did not deviate much from the accounts. Although it is said to be the Hongwu period, it cannot completely eliminate the greasy situation of the warehouse.

He Xi finished inspecting the warehouses of armor, bows and crossbows, firearms, knives and guns. Sure enough, countless weapons were piled up. It's tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands. There is no discrepancy from the accounts.

He Xi was sure of this and said, "By the way, Lord Wang, do you know how many weapons are needed for an army of 300,000? ”

"Your Majesty has already decreed, each pair, one helmet, one armor, one waist knife, one bow, two strings, thirty arrows, one pair of sacks, and five arrows; For every two pairs, add a group card and a spear. Suddenly, a voice came from behind He Xi, the voice was sonorous and powerful, and it seemed that every word had an echo. According to the order of the Ming Dynasty, there are 10 guns in 100 households and 20 sword players. Thirty archers, forty gunners. ”

He Xi turned his head and found that the person who came was none other than him. It's Fu Zhong. Fu Zhong put on his helmet and armor, and pressed his waist knife with his hand. As I walked, the armor rattled. He walked up to He Xi in a few steps and said, "Yesterday I came to order my father to order some weapons. Although it is said that the imperial court has a decree like this. But it also needs to be analyzed on a case-by-case basis. In the southwest operation, there is no need for any regimental cards or long cards. Because there is a thing in the southwest, called rattan. Take several years old vines, kneaded, soaked in fire oil, tough not under the wooden brand, light and light. And there are no problems with knives, guns and arrows, etc., and the Southwest Guard has the most inventory. What you need to care about is armor, firearms, bows and crossbows, all three of which are not something that the Southwest Guard can make. It is also the least numerous. According to the regulations of the imperial court, a guard station produces 160 pairs of armor a year, and it is considered qualified. And these three things are also the least inventory of the Ministry of Industry. As soon as the army comes out, it may be emptied. And not even enough. ”

He Xi listened and looked at the data in his hand. There are 100,000 pairs of armor. Among the bows and crossbows, there are tens of thousands of bows and arrows, and there are less than a thousand bows and crossbows. And firearms are varied. There are too many varieties. There are dozens or hundreds, and the number of various types of firearms varies. There are more than 1,000 doors, and only a few dozen.

In fact, there are different varieties of bows and crossbows. For example, what is the enemy crossbow, the god arm crossbow and so on. But not in much form. Firearms, on the other hand, are different, not to mention explosive firearms, but only shooting firearms, firearms held by soldiers, and cannons weighing tens or hundreds of pounds, which are almost indistinguishable in name.

A gun is a cannon, and a cannon is a gun.

He Xi, who is not familiar with these things, can see it in the clouds.

He Xi said: "Thank you General Fu for your advice, this firearm -----"

Fu Zhong said: "This firearm actually doesn't need to be too concerned, because the place where Yingtianfu has the most firearms is not here. ”

He Xi said: "That's in the Great Internal War Bureau? ”

Fu Zhong said: "It's not. ”

He Xi was a little strange and said, "Where is that?" ”

Fu Zhong said: "It is on the head of Yingtianfu City, Your Majesty builds the city with a high level, accumulates grain, and slowly claims to be the king of the world, and the most city in the world, there is no one more than Jinling, the Jinling city wall is dozens of miles, and there are many firearms. It can be said that the firearms at the head of Jinling City are not too much to arm hundreds of thousands of troops. So, the most important thing is armor and crossbows. Firearms can be slowed down. ”

When He Xi heard Fu Zhong say this, he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "This is much easier." ”

In He Xi's view, firearms are the most complicated. Because he couldn't figure out the idea of firearms in the Ming Dynasty. The number of firearms of the Ming people is jaw-dropping. Even at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, it was a glimpse of it. But in He Xi's view, it's like the army can't use the Wanguo card. The firearms of the army, only a few, a dozen are enough. Where is it needed so much?

If He Xi was asked to make firearms, his first step would be to straighten out firearms. Then select or reinvent a few standard firearms.

This all takes time, and the time given by Zhu Yuanzhang is definitely not enough.

Without these two things, armor and bows and crossbows are simply a matter of manufacture. He Xi has the confidence to solve it.

Fu Zhong repeated: "It's much easier? There was a hint of sarcasm in his tone.

But he knew why there were so few bows and crossbows, firearms, and armor in various places. Although it is not only because of the difficulty of production, but also because of the internal and external control. After all, these three have a greater role in warfare than the weapons of swords, guns, shields, and shields.

And the manufacturing process is complex.

For example, the bow and crossbow, whether it is the bow body or the bowstring, the material is very complex. The popularity in China has always been a composite bow, a good bow, to prepare for several years, from the selection of materials, to gluing, bow taming, and other steps, it takes several years, but also needs fish gelatin and other raw materials.

Very troublesome.

Even this is a big reason why bows and arrows are replaced by firearms. Production is too cumbersome.

And the same goes for armor.

Armor is not just a matter of punching out the armor pieces, it also requires a lot of weaving work, there are fine cowhides, and the armor pieces are woven together layer by layer. Not to mention the nail itself, it needs to be hammered out one by one, not to mention the careful weaving below.

The Nanjing Ordnance Bureau also produces tens of thousands of pairs of armor a year. This was still the Hongwu period, and later, the Ming Jingshi only produced 10,000 pairs of armor a year.

As far as armament is concerned, in the Ming Dynasty, it is estimated that the production of weapons did not exceed the Hongwu period.

It is precisely because I know that these processes are difficult and troublesome. Fu Zhongcai felt that this He Xi was simply grandstanding. He said secretly in his heart: "I don't know what path He Xi took to get His Majesty's appreciation, but such a boastful person, what will happen to him in the future, I'm afraid he will have to peel the skin and last the grass." ”

Fu Zhong knew that Zhu Yuanzhang was tempered. The person who disappointed Zhu Yuanzhang. What happened to him?

It's just that Fu Zhong remembered the scene reported by his subordinates. said: "Secretary He." There's one thing I'd like to ask you about. ”

Fu Zhong looked down on He Xi in his heart, but He Xi was very grateful to Fu Zhong. Fu Zhong's words saved He Xi a lot of labor at once. If it weren't for Fu Zhong's reminder, it is estimated that He Xi would have spent half a day more to come to the same conclusion. That's a waste of time.

As for Fu Zhong's complexion, Fu Zhong was originally a big beard, and he went out to fight all the year round, his face was very rough, and if he didn't look carefully, who knew if he had a good face or a bad face.

He Xi said: "General Fu, if you have anything you want to ask, just say it." ”