Song Yi

Chapter 425 Armament Station
Xu Huaqiang said with a smile: "Of course, it's just that I don't know what kind of weapon the general wants, so I didn't prepare."

"This... I don't have enough strength. I'm afraid I can't swing the copper hammer. The big knife is okay, but I have to swing it a few times. It's boring. It's better to use a long spear. It's hard to tie a line with the spear, and it doesn't take too much effort. Just The long spear is ready, I used to watch the Three Kingdoms, and thought that Zhao Zilong, the white horse and silver spear, was very majestic, so I also learned a lesson. Hehe"

"Okay, the general uses the gun and keeps it majestic. I don't know how heavy the general's gun is?"

"This..." Du Wenhao thought for a while, Guan Gong Qinglong Yanyue Sword weighs 82 jins, it's not bad if he can carry it, let alone juggle it, I don't know how much Zhao Zilong's Pear Blossom Spear weighs, probably he can't do it himself.He didn't know how heavy it was for him.

Seeing Du Wenhao's expression, Xu Huaqiang said, "Why don't you, General, go to the East Workshop of the Armory Station, where you can order a long gun that is convenient for you. How about it?"

"That's a good idea! I'm going to check on our army's equipment. However, the Empress Dowager just issued an order for me to lead the western expedition. Although I'm only in command in the capital, I have to do this first. You have to go to the Privy Council to lead the arrows, you have to go to the Ministry of Households to allocate food and grass, you have to go to the Ministry of War to ask for the roster of the army, and you have to hold a meeting in the Sanya to discuss which forbidden troops to mobilize the Shaanxi Sixth Route. By the way, you have to give lectures to the emperor, and, I also have to visit the Imperial Medical Bureau. I have been promoted and appointed by the Imperial Medical Bureau. I have to take up the post. I will visit my colleagues to see if there are any outstanding talents among the students. The knowledge of surgery must be improved as soon as possible. Once the war broke out, Jinchuang's medical treatment was a big problem. There are so many things that are urgent, his grandma, which one should we do first?"

Xu Huaqiang laughed and said: "The general is an important minister of the court. The empress dowager relies on the general so much, so the general must be busy with many things. Or, go to the Privy Council to lead the soldiers and send the soldiers, and then go to the military department Forge a weapon?"

"No!" Du Wenhao patted the saddle, "This general is empty-handed, how can he lead the army to kill the enemy? This weapon is the first thing to do. Especially, what kind of weapons are there? I want to go and see for myself. Don't send them I am a pile of scrap iron and rotten armor, sacrificing the lives of good men in our army. This weaponry and equipment can’t be sloppy. Let’s go! Go to the armory first, and then go to the Privy Council. There will be no delay.”
The Military Weapons Institute was an arsenal in the Song Dynasty, and was responsible for the production of various weapons and equipment. The Military Weapons Institute was an independent office. Although Du Wenhao could not control the three offices, the three offices had the right to give opinions on the situation of weapons and equipment. Therefore, he has the right to inspect the armory, not to mention that he is the chief executive now, so he has even more power in this regard.

Du Wenhao came to the armory with his personal guards.The chief of the armory station is called the armory supervisor.He is a fourth-rank official. When he heard that Du Wenhao, the chief executive, was coming, he rushed out with his assistants to welcome him.

The military inspector, surnamed Qi, was a hale and hearty old man. He was very respectful to Du Wenhao, and bowed to the ground: "I have seen Mr. Du, the chief executive. I didn't know Mr. Du was coming. I was far away from welcoming you. Please forgive me. "

"You're welcome. I'm here to order a weapon. I'll take a look at our armory. I've never been here before. I want to know more about it. Is that okay?"

"Welcome! Your Excellency please!"

Du Wenhao followed the military inspector and began to inspect.There are three departments in the Armory Institute, which are the Bow and Crossbow Academy, which is responsible for manufacturing various bows and arrow clusters, the East Workshop, which is responsible for manufacturing other light individual weapons and armor and other equipment, and the West Workshop, which is responsible for manufacturing large-scale military equipment for siege defense.

He first came to the bow and crossbow courtyard.

The equipment of the Song army was mainly crossbowmen, so there was a special bow and crossbow yard in the Military Weapons Supervision.This was a last resort for the Song army when it was extremely short of horses and could only use infantry to deal with the cavalry of Liao and Xixia. It attempted to use long-range weapons such as bows and crossbows to offset the speed of cavalry.However, when facing the Xixia heavy cavalry, the Song Dynasty infantry, mainly crossbowmen, were still at a disadvantage.

The courtyard of Gongnuyuan occupies an extremely wide area. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he heard screams coming from inside. Du Wenhao was very surprised, so he couldn't help speeding up his pace. When he entered, he saw countless A row of bungalows, with a small parade ground at the front, a row of flagpoles, on which five or six men in ragged clothes were supported, and several soldiers were beating them vigorously with whips soaked in water.These screams were made by these people.

When the soldiers saw that Du Wenhao was wearing the official robe of a second-rank military general, and was so young, accompanied by the military supervisor, they knew that the person who came was Du Wenhao, the new inspector of the three yamen capitals.Hastily threw down the whip, knelt down on one knee, clasped fists and applied force.

Du Wenhao asked: "What's going on?"

One of them all said: "Report to the general, they are weapon craftsmen of the Bow and Nut Academy. They left their posts without permission and attempted to abscond. They were arrested and brought back, and they were given fifty lashes according to the law."

Du Wenhao frowned: "Are they craftsmen who make bows and crossbows?"

"Yes!"

"Then they are skilled workers, treasures of the country, whether they can make good weapons or not depends entirely on them, how can they be punished like this? ——Aren't military craftsmen allowed to go out?"

Hearing that Du Wenhao's tone was very unfriendly, and he didn't know what he did wrong, he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead in panic, and timidly said: "No... can't..."

"Why? Are they guilty prisoners?"

"No..., not..."

"Then why are they banned? And flogged for it?"

They were so frightened that they were about to cry, and looked pitifully at the military supervisor next to them.

Military Superintendent Qi really didn't want to show up at this time, but if he didn't show up, no one would show up, so he could only bite the bullet and laugh with him: "General, this is stipulated by the military law, and they also act according to the law..."

"Really?" Du Wenhao turned his head and glanced at him, snorted, walked in front of the several military craftsmen, and asked one of the old military craftsmen, "Old man, why did you run away?"

The old man raised his head with difficulty and glanced at Du Wenhao, his lips moved, and then glanced at the fierce Dutou next to him, he lowered his head and moaned in a low voice without speaking.

The head stood aside and snapped: "Li Hong, Mr. Zai Zhi asked you something, why didn't you answer it!"

The old man's name was Li Hong, and after hearing what he said, he still didn't say a word.

Du Wenhao saw four characters tattooed on his forehead impressively: "Military Weapons are Soldiers".

I looked at several other craftsmen, all of whom had tattoos on their foreheads, with the same content.I already understood seven or eight of them in my heart. The army of the Song Dynasty had a recruiting system. Since they have tattoos on their foreheads, it means that the military craftsmen in the military station are also soldiers. up.

But Du Wenhao still couldn't accept it. In his opinion, the technical soldiers in the armory institute were treasures, and they should be raised with high salaries, so that they could make good weapons by giving full play to their technical advantages.

Since he is a soldier, Du Wenhao is a person who has led soldiers before, so he knows the main reason for his desertion. Judging from the aggressive appearance of the capital just now, these soldiers must not have been treated well here. In the region, ill-treatment in the military is the leading cause of desertion.There is no need to ask.

Du Wenhao stepped forward to untie the ropes of several military craftsmen himself, and said: "Since you are here to serve as a soldier, don't be afraid of suffering. Well, go back to recuperate first, and then go to work when you are well."

Li Hong and several military craftsmen looked at him, and then at Qi Military Supervisor, some couldn't believe their ears.

Qi Junjian hurriedly said: "Master Zai Zhi asked you to take good care of your wounds, and then go to work when you are well. If you don't go back, what are you waiting for?"

Only then did Li Hong and the others believe that this was true, they hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed to thank each other, and left the yard with each other's support.

After they left, Du Wenhao said to the military supervisor: "Our army can't fight without good weapons and equipment, and these things are made by these military craftsmen. They can't be punished like ordinary soldiers. —— —Of course, ordinary soldiers should not be punished arbitrarily. For fugitive military artisans, they should not be punished with punishments, but should be retained with affection and treatment, so that they feel that working in the armory is honorable and rewarding. Only with a sense of collective honor and a sense of belonging can they give full play to their ingenuity and make better weapons and equipment!"

He said a word, and the military supervisor agreed, his gray head nodded like a chicken pecking at rice.But Du Wenhao could tell that he didn't listen at all.Of course Du Wenhao knew the reason. It wasn't that he didn't want to listen to his own suggestion, but that according to the military law, deserters must be punished in this way.It's useless to say more.

He sighed lightly, changed the subject, and asked, "How many soldiers are there in our bow and crossbow academy?"

"This..." Nuonuo, the weapons inspector, couldn't answer.

Du Wenhao frowned: "How many people do you not know? How did you become the head of the family?"

The face of the military supervisor was flushed, and he turned to look at the young military supervisor following behind him.The young prisoner hurriedly whispered: "Three thousand and seven hundred people!"

"That's right!" The military inspector hurriedly cupped his hands and said with a smile, "Reporting to the general, there are 700 military craftsmen in my office."

"Oh, there are a lot of people. These houses are workshops that produce bows and crossbows?"

"Yes Yes."

Du Wenhao walked over one by one and found that they were all specialized workshops, some for rough processing, some for producing various bows, some for producing crossbows, some for producing bow strings, and some for producing various arrow clusters.He came to the finished product inspection room, and saw that the military craftsmen were spot checking whether the finished bows and crossbows were qualified. There were two types of inspections: range and accuracy.

A qualified bow and crossbow must exceed the minimum range, and the accuracy has a certain percentage requirement. A certain number of arrows are shot within the effective range, and the number of misses must not exceed the maximum number.

When the soldiers saw the officer coming in, they all knelt down to greet him, and Du Wenhao asked them to continue the examination.

The soldiers continued to spot check and test shoot bows and arrows.Du Wenhao looked at it for a while, shook his head with a wry smile, then turned his head and ordered Xu Huaqiang, who was following him, to wait for a few personal guards, go to the side and insert a few crossbows from the crossbows with signs indicating that they have passed the inspection, and hand them over to the inspector. He re-tested them again.

The bows and crossbows brought over were placed on the table. The military craftsmen in charge of inspection were dumbfounded and looked at the military supervisor at a loss.

(End of this chapter)