The apprenticeship system that has been passed down for thousands of years has destined the inheritance of craftsmanship to be closed and conservative.
The power of tradition is huge. Even if Xu Huai decides to set up a craftsman's studio under the state school this year, the apprenticeship system in the craftsmen's mines in Chushan will still continue to play an active role for a long time, and it is destined to be short-lived. It is difficult to completely get rid of its limitations within a certain period of time.
Even Shen Lian is no exception.
Shen Lian improved the furnace method, and most of the time he figured out and researched it alone. He was also followed by a few young craftsmen who regarded him as his disciples, and he only asked them to help with some chores, but he would not explain the twists and turns. .
Xu Huai would not reprimand Shen Lian and others for failing to transcend the limitations of the current situation.
In addition to staying at the iron yard in late August, Xu Huai learned about and refined the design details of the new down-flame furnace, and personally led the craftsmen to refine the iron wire and angle iron preparation processes. In early September, Xu Huai supervised the younger and older craftsmen of the coal iron. , were all summoned to Shibaliwu to communicate and summarize the gains and losses of the implementation of the continuous furnace method in the past two years; this time, Shen Lian's improved smelting method was also officially named "Shen Lian's downflame method" and discussed.
In mid-September, Xu Huai summoned the chief workers from the Ordnance Supervisor, the Construction Institute, the Shipyard, the core craftsmen, and some generals from the Changshi Institute and Sima Institute to Shibaliwu to discuss the furnace method. The excellent performance of fine iron in the forging of various weapons, equipment and various engineering tools, the building of warships, and actual combat has further broken down the barriers to technological inheritance and exchange from within.
At the same time, Xu Huai also discussed the establishment of the craftsman's studio with others at the Shibaliwu Iron Yard.
Since the founding of the Dai Viet dynasty, the monopoly of the court by aristocratic clans has been abolished, and the imperial examination has been promoted, making the officials officially the mainstream of the court. From then on, small and medium-sized landowners from well-off families have the opportunity to join the ranks of public ministers, and the role of studying has arisen in every corner of society. Expensive trend.
Even though the restrictions on craftsmen in this era were lighter than those in previous dynasties, scholars still regarded it as a despicable industry.
In the past, if a master craftsman's residence was set up in Chushan, it would be hard to imagine how many young students with a basic education would come to take the exam.
Since the fall of Bianliang, this situation has completely changed, at least in Chushan.
Millions of refugees fled south, and there were hundreds of thousands of people stranded in Chushan. Among them, hundreds of thousands of young students who had been educated and literate since childhood and whose families were well off were living in foreign lands.
In addition to reading and writing, most of them did not know about grains and could not endure hard work. When they fled south in a hurry with their families, they had no way to sell their fields and houses. After the small amount of money was used up, their livelihood suddenly became a problem, and they could only live in the villages. Village, working hard together with the poor people who they usually look down on and look down upon.
Of course, these people had the intention of temporarily settling in the village and did not plan to stay in Chushan for a long time. However, after the great victory of Ruying, the warriors' house recruited young students at the beginning of the year, provided free food and accommodation, and compared soldiers every month. An extra salary was given, and sixty young students were quickly found.
Of course, these young men had a prosperous family since childhood, but they encountered a disaster for the first time and were forced to live in a foreign land. Their minds were eager and simple. In addition to learning various military knowledge, they also practiced daily drills and practiced spears, swords, riding and archery very hard.
Nowadays, the Prefectural School has set up a craftsman's house to select a group of young students with a cultural background and basic arithmetic. No one thinks there will be any problems.
After the establishment of the Dai Viet Dynasty, the government compiled and revised the "Creation Methods" and "New Instrument Laws".
"Yao" and other equipment and construction works, "Wu Jing Zong Yao" has chapters on siege, water attack, water warfare, city defense, etc. It also contains a large number of construction methods of armor ordnance, defense fortifications and warships. , and since all dynasties have agricultural books and work books handed down from generation to generation, there is no shortage of general teaching materials.
Although Zhuang Shouxin, Shen Lian, Chen Rongjun and others are all great craftsmen, Xu Huai set up a craftsman studio to select young students with a solid cultural foundation and good arithmetic to train high-level craftsmen in batches. The ultimate goal is to summarize and develop theory, rather than simply passing on experience.
In terms of summarizing and researching these basic theories, Zhuang Shouxin, Chen Rongjun, etc., as traditional craftsmen, all have shortcomings.
Shen Lian is extremely talented in this area, but his foundation is not very solid.
But it was Ding Chong, who was the actual builder of the Water Transport Instrument Platform, had a profound foundation and high attainments in arithmetic, astronomy, and calendaring, and had once aspired to the imperial examination, who was the most suitable candidate for the chief of the Master Craftsman Zhaishe; Xu Huaishi Shen Lian served as Ding Chong's deputy and specifically asked him to make up for his shortcomings in math and other aspects with Ding Chong.
Xu Huai finally decided to temporarily locate the craftsman's studio in Huaidu in order to combine the early teaching of the studio with the further improvement of the "sinking and pouring flame method" and the design of preparation equipment such as wire and angle iron.
Not everything happens overnight.
After spending so much energy to sort out the work, it will take a long time to show the results one by one.
Unconsciously, the cold wind whistled and the yellow leaves turned.
In early October, Xu Huaicai, urged by repeated letters from Shi Zhen, Wang Ju and others, left Huaiyuan and embarked on the road back to Wuyang.
The autumn harvest everywhere is also completed before the end of September.
In addition to Suiping, 300,000 acres of farmland have been added to the two counties of Queshan, and the farmland on both sides of the Mingxi River has also expanded to 400,000 acres this year; in addition, tallow trees have been planted in Yexian, Wuyang, Huangchuan, Luoshan, Xiangcheng and Xinzhi counties. , the cultivation of more than 800,000 fertile fields was resumed, and with the intensive plowing of Tongbai Mountain, the autumn harvest was mainly wheat, beans and other crops, with a total output of 3 million shi.
Although compared with the more than 500,000 soldiers and civilians in Chushan, the per capita annual grain output is less than six dan, including a large amount of necessary livestock grain, which is far from being wealthy. Although Caizhou can truly be called the essence of Ru River, Three to four million acres of fertile farmland are still lying idle, but Chushan can tell that the gap in next year's rations is not that big, at least it won't be overwhelming.
This year, in order to make up for the food gap in Chushan, the imperial court promised to pay three million guan of military supplies, two-thirds of which were food transported from Jinghu and other places with great pains.
By next year, this part of the military resources can be saved and used to do other things.
The autumn harvest is over, but that doesn’t mean we can wait for the New Year.
A large number of young and strong laborers were liberated from farmland cultivation. Next, it was time for the townships and villages to organize young and strong men to build dikes, post roads, villages, and dig rivers and canals.
Hundreds of generals affiliated with the Military and Horse Supervisory Department, as well as a new batch of students who had finished their studies in the samurai dormitory, all entered the township offices and villages at this time, and summoned the village soldiers and village warriors to conduct winter drills and prepare for war.
The state soldiers were also expanded from the regular number of 10,000 soldiers to 30,000 to assist the left and right armies in resisting the enemy forces in the west of Beijing that would launch raids or larger-scale military operations on Huaishang after the winter.
Huaishang has already entered the dry season. Although you
The middle and lower reaches of Yingshui have become swamps, and a large amount of flooded water has nowhere to drain. However, the rivers such as Shuili River and the upper reaches of Yingshui River have become shallower and narrower.
The enemy army in Xuchang has also sent a large number of scouts directly across the Yingshui River and entered Xiangcheng, moving north of Zhaoling. There are also signs of large-scale raids and cavalry gathering towards Xuchang. Shi Zhen, Wang Ju and Fan Yong who stayed behind in Wuyang,
Guo Junpan and others repeatedly urged Xu Huai to return to Wuyang as soon as possible and personally take charge of winter defense.
On a foggy morning, Xu Huai entered Wuyang City, surrounded by more than a hundred selected vanguard cavalry.
The headquarters and state offices were placed in Wuyang, mainly to make it easier for command and deployment of defense on the western front. The terrain outside Wuyang City was flat and broad, making it easy for enemy cavalry to penetrate and harass, and it was not a necessary place for materials to be collected and distributed.
Therefore, after Ruying's victory, Xingying has always been interested in controlling Wuyang's population.
Most people were still immersed in their dreams, and there were not many pedestrians on the stone-paved North and South Streets.
Mist condensed on the stone floor, making it wet, and the horses' hooves with iron claws made a clear sound.
The lights in the office hall were brightly lit. Shi Zhen, Wang Ju, Fan Yong, Guo Junpan, Zhou Jing and others stayed up almost all night. They welcomed Xu Huai into the office hall, and did not ask Xu Huai and Liu Qiong'er to go back to the house to rest for a while.
, and directly talked about the enemy movements in Heluo and west of Beijing that were just reported by the scouts last night:
"... After the great victory at Ruying, the enemy's military center of gravity completely shifted eastward. It left 30,000 cavalry in Shaanxi, and took the captured soldiers and horses surrendered by the former Shaanxi Fifth Route and organized 50,000 under the Shaanxi General Manager's Office.
The Han army, with its troops retreating to the Qinling Mountains, such as Gu Jiqian and Gao Junyang, was struggling south of the Wei River. However, their military power was not completely transferred to the east. Instead, they focused on strengthening Heluo and the west of Beijing. In the past ten days,
, the enemy army in the west of Beijing, almost fifteen or six thousand cavalry, gathered in Xuchang, and also sent a large number of elite soldiers into the south bank of Yingshui River, established camps, and built pontoon bridges on the upper reaches of Yingshui River..."
"Yuehailou, Muchi hasn't suffered enough yet. Are you coming to give us a big gift this winter?" Xu Huai grinned and asked, "Yuehailou, Muchi has made such a big move to contain us.
Are we, Heluo, and Xuzhou making any big moves?"
"Cao Shixiong sent troops from Luoyang and went south along the Yishui River! The forward troops have entered the northern part of Song County," Zhou Jingchen reported, "It is different from what we predicted!"
Xu Huai frowned slightly.
After Zheng Huaizhong abandoned Heluo, the enemy occupied Heluo and established the Heluo General Manager's Office. Cao Shixiong was appointed as the Heluo General Manager and the capital marshal. In addition to Cao Shixiong's 50,000 troops, the Red Husbands also transferred 20,000 soldiers who had been trained in infantry warfare.
The elite men of Semu were placed under the control of the General Manager of Heluo and were controlled by Cao Shixiong.
In the south of Heluo, Zheng Huaizhong's Shenwu Army controlled Lushi and other places in the upper reaches of Luoshui River, and Yang Lin's Zuo Xiaosheng Army controlled Songxian, Ruyang, Liangxian and other places in the upper reaches of Yihe River and Shuishui River, and Chushanxi and other places.
The lips and teeth of the lines depend on each other.
The valleys in the upper reaches of Luoshui River and the upper reaches of Yishui River are separated by the high mountains at the eastern foot of Funiu Mountain and Xiong'er Mountain. As long as Cao Shixiong stationed elites in Yichuan County in the upper reaches of Yishui River, he could attack the upper reaches of Luoshui River without any distractions.
Zheng Huaizhong used troops under his command.
Therefore, when predicting the enemy's winter offensive this year on the Western Front, everyone in the camp speculated that the enemy in Heluo would eventually attack Zheng Huaizhong's men in the upper reaches of the Luoshui River.
The latest movements of the enemy forces in Heluo show that the judgment of everyone in the camp has gone awry...
