Sheng Tang: What is Liu Jianjun going to do today?

Chapter 213 The Cotton Mill in Yingzhou City and the Information Provided by Wang Bo

Wang Bo has changed a lot.

If it weren't for the fact that the man in front of him had a face just like Wang Bo's, Li Xian would have thought he had mistaken someone else for someone else.

In Li Xian's mind, Wang Bo was initially a talented and proud young man. Later, when Li Xian was demoted and returned to Chang'an with the help of Liu Jianjun, he saw Wang Bo again as a mature, steady, relatively taciturn, but very proactive middle-aged man.

But the Wang Bo of today...

"Your Highness Prince Pei, Chief Secretary Liu, and General Xue are just like that. That's just how people are these days. If they don't want to waste time with you, they won't bother with any formalities!"

Wang Bo warmly took Li Xian's hand and walked into the new cotton mill, saying, "But our General Xue is a tough guy. When our cotton mill first opened, we were short of people! You saw it on the way here. The men were either sent to the battlefield or became bandits in the mountains. Do you know how that was finally resolved?"

Before Li Xian could answer, Wang Bo said again, "General Xue!"
"He thought that Chief Secretary Liu's method of combining engineering and military work was effective, so he implemented it in our cotton mill. Anyone recruited by our cotton mill was considered to be serving a mandatory labor service. In this way, our cotton mill was able to start operating smoothly!"

Li Xian still felt very uncomfortable.

Not only does Wang Bo now speak with a strong Northeastern accent, but most importantly, he has also become much more enthusiastic.

So enthusiastic...that they're even a bit talkative.

Yes, it's somewhat similar to Guangshun.

……

It all started this morning.

As dawn broke, Liu Jianjun woke up and, together with Li Xian, went to the cotton processing plant.

Finding the way went smoothly. Liu Jianjun knew that the cotton mill was located in Yingzhou City. Although he didn't know the exact location, he just asked some passersby along the way.

The new cotton mill was built south of Yingzhou City. There was a river of moderate size in the area, which was sufficient to power the water-powered spinning wheels. However, the cotton mill was not built on a very large scale. Li Xian only learned this later. This was because the river in this area had a longer freezing period than in Chang'an, so the time in a year when water power could be used to power the water-powered spinning wheels was shorter.

Apart from being slightly smaller in scale, the cotton mill in Yingzhou City was not much different from the one in Chang'an. Huge waterwheels turned, driving a series of spinning wheels, and craftsmen spun cotton threads into cotton cloth around the spinning wheels.

The one who led Li Xian on a tour of the cotton mill in Yingzhou City was naturally Wang Bo.

Wang Bo's appearance and voice remained unchanged, but his personality and tone... became like a completely different Guangshun.

Li Xian stared at Wang Bo, who was speaking eloquently, and was momentarily dazed.

Just then, a loud-voiced craftsman shouted at Wang Bo, "Wang, the military advisor! Wang, the military advisor! Why is the No. 13 engine in Group A not turning again! Hurry up and take a look! We brothers are all paid by piecework, and if we waste a morning, it'll cost us thirty or forty coins!"

Wang Bo hesitated for a moment, then shouted impatiently, "Wait! I'm coming!"

Then he looked at Li Xian apologetically and said, "I act as a technical consultant here. Whenever there is a machine malfunction in the factory, I am the one who takes care of it. So these people like to order me around when they have nothing to do, especially these pieceworkers."

"In addition, since the cotton mill was nominally under General Xue's name, General Xue granted me a nominal military rank for the convenience of management."

Seeing that he was sweating profusely from working so early in the morning, Li Xian simply said to him, "You go ahead and do your work. Liu Jianjun and I will wander around for a bit and come find us after we finish work at noon."

Seeing Li Xian's words, Wang Bo gave an embarrassed dry laugh, then ran towards the craftsman, shouting as he ran: "Old Dong! I've never seen you so loud in front of your wife! Can't you see I'm with an important guest! I'm always eyeing your few coins, but they'll just end up in your wife's hands anyway, do you think you can keep them!"

From the other end came Old Dong's lowered voice, tinged with a sheepish chuckle: "Whether I get anything or not... at least I should be able to sleep in the kang tonight..."

Li Xian watched Wang Bo walk away into the distance, then looked at Liu Jianjun and stammered, "Zian... how did he become like this?"

Liu Jianjun, however, did not seem surprised at all, saying, "You'll understand once you stand here for a while."

After saying that, he plopped down on a stone bench by the roadside.

Li Xian was puzzled, but also curious about what Liu Jianjun meant, so he stood there blankly.

The two of them didn't say anything, they just stared at each other.

But after a short while, a craftsman-looking man came over carrying a bundle of cotton cloth. He seemed to be passing by, and when he saw Li Xian and Liu Jianjun, he came over and asked, "You two look a bit unfamiliar. Are you new here?"

Li Xian turned his head blankly and looked at the craftsman.

Do I... know him?
"Looking at your dazed expression, I'm scared!" The man laughed, slung the cotton cloth over his shoulder, glanced at Liu Jianjun, and asked, "The child inside has been found?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Jianjun immediately stood up angrily and said, "This is my brother!"

Upon hearing this, the man chuckled again, quickly glancing at Liu Jianjun and Li Xian before saying with a cheerful laugh, "Hehe, the old man is still going strong!"

Liu Jianjun snapped angrily, "If you can't chat, don't force it. Do we even look alike?"

This time, the man looked puzzled, and then stared intently at Li Xian and Liu Jianjun's faces for a while before hesitatingly asking, "A watch?"

Liu Jianjun immediately lost his temper, slumped his shoulders, and said, "You go ahead with your work, we'll just sit here for a while!"

"Alright, if you need anything, just give me a shout! I, Dong Laosan, am a model worker at the cotton mill. There's nothing in this factory that I don't know!"

After patting his chest and making his statement, the man walked away carrying the cotton cloth.

Li Xian suppressed a laugh as he watched the two finish their conversation before asking, "Are all the people here... so talkative?"

After a short while, Li Xian also noticed that the local customs in the north seemed quite different from those in the two capitals. Here, people would always strike up a conversation with you, regardless of whether they knew you or not.

"Pretty much." Liu Jianjun nodded. "Old Wang has been here for over a year, so it's perfectly normal for him to be influenced a bit. Besides, the accent here is so catchy that you can't help but pick it up. We'll see once we've been here for a while."

Li Xian nodded thoughtfully.

"Alright, let's continue exploring for a while. This place will be our base from now on, so we can't leave without getting familiar with it."

Liu Jianjun patted his behind, stood up, and walked deeper into the cotton mill.

Along the way, passing craftsmen struck up conversations with the two.

Li Xian discovered a trick: as long as Liu Jianjun showed a happy and enthusiastic expression and loudly responded to the people who greeted him, those who tried to strike up a conversation would stop chattering and instead return the same enthusiastic and happy expression before quickly saying goodbye.

Liu Jianjun said, "That's how people are here. When they strike up a conversation with you, they don't necessarily want to get any information out of you. They just want to make sure you're doing well. If they see you in a good mood, they feel reassured."

Li Xian asked curiously, "You've never been to the Northern Frontier, how do you know this?"

"That's what Lao Wang said in his letter."

……

As the sun climbed higher into the sky, Wang Bo finally returned.

"I've kept Your Highness and Chief Secretary Liu waiting!" Wang Bo wiped the sweat from his forehead, but you could tell that he was also in high spirits. "That's how it is here. The machines sometimes act up, and the craftsmen are straightforward and say whatever comes to mind."

Liu Jianjun greeted him with a smile and said, "It's great, much better than those complicated things in Luoyang. I'm telling you, Lao Wang, your skills are pretty good now. You've got such a big thing set up in no time."

"It's all about practice."

Wang Bo waved his hand, a hint of helplessness mixed with barely concealed smugness: "When I first came here, if the machine stopped, the whole factory would be at a loss. We had to beg and plead to find craftsmen, which was time-consuming, laborious, and delayed production. Later, I figured I had nothing better to do, so I followed the experienced craftsmen from Chang'an and learned from them. I disassembled and reassembled things, and gradually I figured out the tricks of the trade. Now I can handle most minor problems."

As he spoke, he led the two towards the canteen where the craftsmen ate, and asked, "It's the time when the craftsmen finish work and eat right now. If Your Highness and Chief Secretary Liu don't mind, would you like to come and have something to eat with us?"

Liu Jianjun put his arm around Li Xian's shoulder and said, "Let's go, eat and chat."

……

As soon as you enter the canteen, a symphony of steaming noodles and the rich aroma of stews hits you. The canteen is quite spacious, with rough wooden beams and pillars, and dozens of long wooden tables and benches. Most of the craftsmen are already seated there, and the place is bustling with noise.

When Wang Bo entered, many people greeted him with smiles, their eyes darting curiously over Li Xian and Liu Jianjun behind him before returning to their own meals.

Wang Bo asked Li Xian to sit down, while he called Liu Jianjun to help him. They brought out three large, rough earthenware bowls filled with stewed vegetables that had become a thick, mushy mess, almost completely covering the rice.

Li Xian glanced at it; the stew seemed to contain radishes, cabbage, and some unidentifiable wild vegetables, along with small pieces of mutton.

"The food here is according to military regulations. Although there's nothing fancy, it's hot and filling," Wang Bo explained with a smile.

Li Xian suddenly realized.

Liu Jianjun didn't care about these details. He took a big bite from the bowl and praised, "Authentic Northeastern stew, it's a pity it's a little short on salt."

Wang Bo smiled, shook his head, and said nothing.

Liu Jianjun ate a couple of bites of stew, then broke off a hard piece of flatbread and soaked it in the soup. He asked, "Old Wang, you've been here for so long, do you know what the situation is like in Wugu City?"

Li Xian immediately sat up straight.

Wang Bo paused as he was about to put food in his mouth. He put down his chopsticks, looked around, and lowered his voice, saying, "Liu Changshi has also heard about this? That's a tough nut to crack; it almost broke General Xue's teeth!"

He leaned forward, his voice even lower: "Wugu City is located west of the Yalu River. It has a strategic location, surrounded by mountains on three sides and facing the water on one side. The city walls are built on the mountain ridge, and they are all made of large stones..."

"How many times did General Xue fight?" Li Xian couldn't help but ask.

“We launched three fierce attacks!” Wang Bo held up three fingers. “The first one was a direct assault. Our soldiers charged up the hillside, but the enemy threw logs and stones down from the city walls and rained down arrows. We suffered heavy casualties and couldn’t break through their defenses.”

"And the second time?" Liu Jianjun asked, chewing on the softened flatbread.

"The second time, General Xue wanted to launch a night attack and sent his elite troops to sneak up under cover of darkness. However, Wugu City was heavily guarded, and the torches at night made it as bright as day. Our men were discovered before they even got close, and we suffered another heavy defeat and returned empty-handed."

Wang Bo shook his head. "The third time, we besieged them for a while, trying to cut off their water supply. But there was a mountain spring in the city. We besieged them for almost half a month, and they were fine, but we consumed a lot of our food supplies."

"General Xue had no choice. He organized another strong attack a few days ago, but it was the same as before. Apart from adding more corpses under the city walls, there was no progress."

Although Li Xian didn't know much about military matters, he frowned as he listened: "So, it seems we can't do anything about it?"

"It's tough!" Wang Bo sighed. "General Xue is a capable fighter, but Wugu City is like an iron turtle, hiding in its hard shell. No matter how sharp our swords are, it's useless if we can't cut through them."

"The morale of the soldiers has been affected. After all, who wouldn't feel frustrated after repeatedly hitting roadblocks?"

"General Xue's temper has grown these days. He's been staring at that map all day, and he can barely eat a few bites of food."

Liu Jianjun stirred the stew in his bowl thoughtfully with his chopsticks, then suddenly asked, "Where are our siege weapons? Battering rams, ladders, catapults—weren't we using them properly?"

"I used it, of course it worked!"

Wang Bo said, "But the mountain roads there are difficult to travel, so large catapults can't be transported up there. Only small ones can be used, and hitting those stone walls is like scratching an itch."

"We did build a few battering rams, but the city gates were heavily fortified, and we couldn't break them open in a short time. Before we even got close, they were destroyed by the oil and crossbow bolts from the city walls. As for the siege ladders... sigh, we would set up a wave, and then they would push them down or burn them down. The casualties were too great."

The cafeteria was noisy, and the three people's conversation was mixed in with the noise, so it didn't stand out.

But Li Xian felt a little uneasy.

While in Luoyang, he had heard about Feng Xiaobao's victory. Although he knew that Feng Xiaobao's victory was due to luck, Li Xian still harbored some illusions, fantasizing that Wu Zhou was still the invincible Tang Dynasty of the past.

But now it seems that even a small city like Wugu can leave a famous general like Xue Ne helpless.

Liu Jianjun was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Old Wang, you've been here for a while, do you know if there are any other ways to get to Wugu City besides a frontal assault? For example... a side path, or is it possible to go around it?"

Wang Bo thought for a moment and shook his head, saying, "If we can think of these things, how could General Xue not have thought of them? In fact, General Xue has tried all the methods that can be tried. It is indeed possible to take Wugu City, but the only way is to pay with human lives."

"However, Liu Changshi and His Highness must have seen it on their way here: what the entire Northern Frontier lacks most is manpower."

At this point, Wang Bo realized his mistake, smiled apologetically, and said, "What I meant was not that you are less thoughtful than General Xue, it's just..."

Liu Jianjun waved his hand dismissively, interrupting Wang Bo: "You're an old man in the Wang family, there's no need for such formalities. When it comes to matters on the battlefield, General Xue is definitely more thoughtful than us."

At this point, Liu Jianjun paused, then asked, "You just said we're short of manpower and supplies here."

Wang Bo gave a wry smile and said, "If we're short of people, how could we be short of supplies?"

Wang Bo spoke lightly, but Li Xian sensed the cruelty in his words.

Dividing one hundred steamed buns among one hundred people is naturally a tight situation.

But if a hundred steamed buns are divided among ten people, then there won't be a shortage.

It's no wonder Xue Ne wasn't very enthusiastic about his arrival—human resources had become the scarcest resource in the northern frontier, to the point that even the originally scarce supplies seemed "abundant," making him, as the deputy supervisor of grain and machinery, a burden.

But Liu Jianjun's eyes lit up, and he asked, "Are there enough charcoal, sulfur, and saltpeter?"

As soon as Liu Jianjun asked this question, Li Xian instantly understood what Liu Jianjun wanted to do.

He had already invented gunpowder while he was in Luoyang. If he were to use that to attack a city...

Li Xian's eyes also brightened instantly.

"What the hell? Charcoal, sulfur, saltpeter..." Wang Bo clearly didn't know about gunpowder, looking completely bewildered, which, combined with his thick accent, made him particularly funny.

Liu Jianjun just stared at him, urging him on with his eyes.

Wang Bo scratched his head and said, "There's plenty of charcoal. As you can see, this place is all mountains and forests. We can cut down some trees and burn them, and there'll be enough for us!"

"As for sulfur and saltpeter... I've been making inquiries these past few days, and I've heard that there are sulfur mines in the old forest north of Yingzhou City. Local hunters and herbalists all know about it. The place smells like rotten eggs and is steaming hot."

"However, that area is remote and borders the area where bandits operate, so the government has never properly mined it..."

Liu Jianjun immediately nodded: "That's fine, we'll take some people over there to take a look in the next couple of days!"

Wang Bo asked with some curiosity, "Liu Changshi, what do you need these things for? I've heard that many wandering alchemists use them for alchemy..."

Wang Bo was a little embarrassed when he said this.

Li Xian also felt a bit emotional. Wang Bo used to never care about these things, so it seems that his life in the northern frontier over the past year has had a great impact on him.

“It’s not for alchemy.” Liu Jianjun shook his head, not hiding anything from Wang Bo. “This matter is of great importance. If it succeeds, we might be able to crack that tough nut in Wugu City. We need these things to make something called gunpowder…”

Liu Jianjun briefly talked about the black powder, and then about Xue Ne's attitude towards Li Xian.

He concluded, "General Xue clearly doesn't take us seriously. If we can get the gunpowder and take over Wugu City, it will be of great help to us in what comes next."

Although Wang Bo found Liu Jianjun's description of the power of heavenly thunder somewhat unbelievable, his blind trust in Liu Jianjun seemed unchanged.

He immediately asked, "Should we tell General Xue about this?"

……

(End of this chapter)