Qiuci Town, Anxi Protectorate.
Zhou Jun, who was sitting in the study, was dealing with recent official duties. A report in his hand recorded in detail several major events within Anxi.
First of all, due to the influx of refugees, the population of the four towns in Anxi has increased significantly. The wasteland that was originally unmanaged has now been reclaimed in large quantities. According to reports from various town guards, in the past three years since the refugees moved in, more than 100,000 acres of wasteland have been reclaimed in Anxi.
More than 33,000 hectares (1 hectare = 100 acres, 1 acres = 0.871 acres).
In the early and mid-Tang Dynasty, because the population in Anxi was too small, various places fell into the hands of foreigners, and troops were stationed and engaged in farming. It was inconvenient to supply cattle, seeds, and farm tools, so there was not much development in farming.
But in fact, Anxi is vast and sparsely populated. Although the environment in most areas is harsh, there are many fields that can be used for farming.
Since Zhou Jun took office as Jiedushi, the unrest in Anxi has gradually subsided, the channels for refugees to move in have been smoothed, threats from neighboring countries have been eliminated one by one, and cattle, seeds, agricultural tools, etc. have also been centralized and coordinated.
Therefore, agriculture in Anxi, especially in the four towns of Anxi, has ushered in a great development.
The second major event was the cotton harvest.
Cotton cultivation requires the following conditions: sufficient light, abundant heat, large temperature difference between day and night, and convenient irrigation.
The natural conditions for growing cotton in Anxi are excellent. The Governor-General has previously issued a decree to purchase cotton at a low guaranteed price, eliminating the worries of cotton farmers. Large cotton growers can also discount their rent, etc.
Because of this, farmers are enthusiastic about planting cotton, and refugees from Hedong have brought improved cotton seeds. Therefore, Anxi's cotton industry this year is a rare and prosperous year.
The third major event is about the artillery development of Jianhong Taixue.
The good news is that the Anxi Army's first bronze artillery was developed.
The bad news is that it only fired once and it exploded.
Another good news is that although the chamber was exploded, there were no casualties because it was made of bronze.
Another bad news is that since the cannon casting mold is made of clay, it took more than half a month just to build the mold. Now that the cannon has exploded, this means that if you want to build a second one,
The mold would have to be rebuilt, which would take more than half a month.
Zhou Jun opened the painting in the appendix of the report, which contained a detailed diagram of the first bronze cannon.
From the appearance point of view, the appearance of this artillery is not much different from the early artillery in Zhou Jun's memory.
Zhou Jun read the report carefully and discovered the problem.
The first problem is that the craftsmen greatly underestimated the power of granular gunpowder in a confined space, so they overcharged the powder. The second problem is that when Zhou Jun originally drew the drawing, he only drew the appearance but did not mark the outer diameter.
and inner diameter. As a result, the designed artillery had insufficient wall thickness.
Zhou Jun turned down the report again, and Mao Shun indeed mentioned these two points later.
In addition, Mao Shun also pointed out a third problem. Clay modeling is used to build cannons. Due to the difficulty in cooling the cannon body, many tiny cavities will appear on the tube wall when the cannon body is taken out of the mold. This is also a test result.
One of the main reasons for gun explosion.
Next, regarding solutions, Mao Shun and Jaber gave suggestions respectively.
Jaber proposed that the first is to standardize gunpowder materials, such as different types of charcoal powder, which have different combustion-supporting abilities. This requires repeated experiments to provide a mixing standard for different materials; the second is to conduct explosion resistance tests on bronze materials separately.
, determine the explosion limit that the gun wall can withstand.
Mao Shun proposed to replace the earth mold method with the lost wax method to cast the artillery.
The so-called lost wax method is to first make a mold of the casting with beeswax, then fill the inner core with clay and lay it on the outer mold. After heating and baking, all the wax mold melts and is lost, making the entire internal mold of the casting hollow.
Pour molten liquid inside and the utensils will be cast.
This method can precision cast artillery, and the mold can be used repeatedly.
But there are many disadvantages. For example, after casting is completed, burrs and embossments will appear on the surface, which requires repeated polishing. Moreover, the melting point of beeswax is very low, and the working environment must be placed in a cold location, etc.
Maoshun suggested finding a suitable location near Kucha Town, such as inside a shady cave, and moving the artillery factory there.
Zhou Jun thought for a while, agreed to the proposal, and wrote another warrant, asking Sun Aying, the leader of the personal soldiers, to be responsible for guarding the artillery factory.
After dealing with the manufacturing issues of the artillery, Zhou Jun next picked up the reports from the Weaving and Textile Department and the Glaze and Porcelain Department.
Since the Duhufu issued the order, Khotan Town and Shule Town began to develop and build silk workshops.
However, since the raw silk industry cannot take shape in the short term, most of the raw materials for Anxi weaving and spinning must be purchased from the east.
Nowadays, several weaving workshops, mainly government-owned, have been opened in Qiuci Town.
The huge and complex flower loom is assembled every day with the collective cooperation of countless craftsmen and transported to the weaving workshop.
Taking advantage of the performance of the flower tower machine, Chongluo with exquisite and complex patterns has become the main source of income for Anxi's current official business.
As for the firing of celadon, the Duhufu started to collect soft clay (hydrates of silicon oxide and aluminum oxide) and hard clay (silicates similar to quartz sand) suitable for making porcelain clay from all over Anxi based on the records written by Mao Shun.
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At present, many mineral soils that meet the requirements have been received. Dong Yanniang and a group of porcelain craftsmen have begun to search for the most suitable mixing ratio and firing method.
After reading this, Zhou Jun took a long breath and opened the last document.
This document is not a report, but a letter, written by Liu Zai, the governor of Dunhuang County.
Liu Zai wrote in the letter that the Daqi trade road has reopened, trade has gradually become more frequent, official income has increased, and Shazhou has slowly recovered from the wars in previous years. Whether it is commerce, handicrafts or
Various aspects of people's livelihood have improved greatly.
But the good times did not last long. Since Zhou Erlang was dismissed from the post of Longyou envoy by the imperial court, the aristocratic families in the Guanzhong area and nearby areas coveted the lucrative Daqi trade route. Under the collusion of officials and businessmen, they once again took over.
Once again, it reached Shazhou.
The imperial court sent Dr. Cui to be in charge of the Daqi Commercial Road. This man was said to be a Qingliu old man, but in fact he was the talker of the Guanzhong family. He replaced the official business with private business, exploited the local people, and arrested the local wealthy families. What he did was the same as back then.
Compared with the king's pheasant, it is even worse.
As the governor of Dunhuang, Zai tried his best to ease the conflicts in Shazhou, but the results were not obvious. The conflicts between the two parties gradually deepened and confrontations occurred from time to time.
Dr. Cui and other court officials regarded me as a thorn in their side and impeached me several times.
Yang Guozhong colluded with these people, racked up accusations, fabricated evidence, and framed me.
As a last resort, Zai resigned from the post of governor. Unfortunately, the agreement he had made with Zhou Erlang could not be fulfilled.
At the end of the letter, he wrote that since Doctor Cui and others took control of the Daqi trade route, the refugees' access to the west has been greatly hindered.
Doctor Cui and others used the excuse of passing customs duties to collect head fees from the refugees, and tried their best to squeeze out the people's wealth and anointing.
The refugees are now barricaded in Shazhou and Guazhou areas. There are thousands of people who have no money to cross the border, and the number is increasing.
Seeing this, Zhou Jun frowned deeply.
After thinking for a moment, Zhou Jun wrote quickly and wrote a reply.
There are only a few words in the letter, which can be summed up in one sentence, urging Liu Zai to come to Anxi as soon as possible.
This chapter has been completed!