Two days later in the afternoon, Cao Rui was sitting in his study reviewing memorials.
Zhong Yu walked in quietly and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, General Guanqiu is here and is waiting outside."
"Announce him to come in."
"According to the order."
But after a while, Guanqiu Jian stepped into the room and found that the emperor himself was also wearing the ordinary clothes of an ordinary scholar. He couldn't help wondering:
"Your Majesty, do you want the White Dragon Fish to serve?"
"That's right." Cao Rui looked at Guanqiu Jian, who was dressed like a scholar, and asked, "Do you have your sword and seal?"
"I have it." Guanqiu Jian touched his waist and said, "I have the seal and ribbon with me, but the sword was taken away by the tiger guards when I entered the palace."
Cao Rui smiled and said, "Well, let's go. I will go out in plain clothes today. Zhong Gong will accompany me to the Jiangzuo Supervision Works in the south of the city to have a look."
Guanqiu Jian said: "Your Majesty wants to see the manufacture of military equipment, and I will accompany you. How many tiger guards should we bring?"
Cao Rui glanced at Guanqiu Jian with a hint of amusement: "Why, Zhong Gong can't protect me with a sword alone?"
Guanqiu Jian said: "That is not what I meant. I am just worried that someone might offend Your Majesty."
Cao Rui smiled and said, "This is Luoyang, my Luoyang, what else can I do?"
As soon as he finished speaking, two attendants, Xu Shu and Pei Qian, walked in side by side.
Cao Rui winked at Xu Shu and said, "I heard that Minister Xu dared to kill people when he was young. Can you draw your sword now?"
Xu Shu seemed to recall his former pride: "I am not boasting, but my swordsmanship is better now than it was thirty years ago."
Pei Qian, standing by, also said tactfully: "I have also been on the battlefield, and I am also brave!"
Guanqiu Jian turned his head and glanced at the two ministers Xu and Pei, and pursed his lips slightly. Xu Shu was well-known for his skill with swords, and Pei Qian had also fought in battles, all of which Guanqiu Jian knew.
However, these two ministers are both over fifty years old, so how come they are still so youthful?
Xu Shu was not restrained by nature, and when he heard that the emperor had to go out in formal attire, he suggested carrying a sword and following him. Pei Qian's demeanor was completely to try to figure out the emperor's intentions and follow his own rules.
The four men, swords on their waists, rode south from the south gate of the North Palace. They entered the South Palace, passed through the alley between the Shangshutai and the Privy Council, and finally rode out of the South Palace from the Sima Gate.
It must be said that while most officials were busy with various trivial matters, it was still very enjoyable for the four of them to ride through Nangong on horseback.
After leaving the south gate of Luoyang and walking along the official road, they arrived at the gate of the new site of the Jiangzuo Supervision Factory on the north bank of the Luo River, where they stopped their horses.
Guanqiu Jian dismounted and went forward to inform the soldiers guarding the gate: "I am the commander of the Central Army, and I am here to inspect the factory. Please let me in."
The old soldier guarding the gate rolled his eyes and looked at Guanqiu Jian's ordinary clothes, then looked at the other three people sitting on horses behind him who had no official airs at all.
"Let's go, let's go."
"You are not allowed to enter the important area of the Ministry of Works without permission. If it weren't for the fact that you are all scholars, I would arrest you all for coming here and talking nonsense!"
Guanqiu Jian was not angry. He took out his purple ribbon and gold seal from his bosom and waved it in front of the old soldier's eyes: "Do you recognize this?"
The old soldier wanted to lean forward to take a look, but was stopped by a younger soldier beside him: "Please wait a moment, we will go and report to the master carpenter."
Guanqiu Jian certainly would not argue with the two soldiers, so he asked casually, "Is Ma Deheng here today?"
"Yes, yes. Please wait a moment." When the young soldier heard the name of the chief architect Ma Jun, he bent his back even deeper.
Guanqiu Jian turned back to the three men and said, "Your Majesty, Ma Jun is here today. We are not wearing official uniforms. The doorman has gone inside to report."
Cao Rui was not in a hurry: "Then wait."
Not long after, Ma Jun, the chief architect who had just taken office for over a year, trotted out.
Ma Jun saw Guanqiu Jian and was about to bow, but Guanqiu Jian smiled and pointed behind him, and Ma Jun realized that the emperor had come in person.
"Your Ma Jun greets His Majesty!"
Cao Rui dismounted and said, "I have some free time today so I can come here. Come on, take me inside to have a look."
"As you command." Ma Jun stood up and said, "Your Majesty, please come this way. I will explain everything to you one by one."
The land along the Luo River is flat and open, and the factory of the supervisor is fenced off in a fairly large area, almost as large as an ordinary market in Luoyang city.
Although it was daytime, there were hardly many people walking around in the workshop or between the houses. Only occasionally someone pushed a newly made cart and moved weapons and armor from the workshop to the temporary warehouse.
"Your Majesty, please look to the left," Ma Jun pointed to a row of houses on the left and said, "This is the armor preparation workshop."
"The armor pieces of various colors were cast at the iron officials in Hedong and Henei, and transported here by water. Then, the craftsmen processed and connected them into armor pieces. About 200 sets of armor pieces were made every day."
"It's several times faster than the previous dozens of suits of armor."
Cao Rui asked: "Hasn't the central army's armor already been replaced? Why do we need to make more armor?"
Ma Jun explained: "I did this because I received the order from the Privy Council. The Privy Council said that we should prepare it first and keep it in the Luoyang arsenal for deployment, so I followed the order."
Cao Rui nodded.
Perhaps Dong Zhao and Man Chong ordered the supervisor to rush the preparation according to their plan to go to Xuchang and use troops in Huainan next year. Cao Rui had not paid attention to such trivial matters before.
The production of armor is different from other weapons. It is slow and time-consuming. Under the premise that the war is not urgent, the output of Luoyang is 200 sets of armor per day, which is very impressive.
Cao Rui asked again, "What about the armored cavalry?" Ma Jun replied, "Of the quota of 3,000 sets of horse armor and large armor, nearly 2,000 sets have been produced. The Privy Council said that ordinary armor should be produced first, and armored cavalry armor can be delayed a little."
Guanqiu Jian was puzzled: "Why can't we make ordinary armor and armor for armored cavalry at the same time?"
Ma Jun laughed and said, "General Guanqiu, you don't know that the General Administration is now using the 'assembly line' method issued by your majesty and the Privy Council last year."
"Based on this method, we have re-divided the processes for different armors."
As he spoke, Ma Jun pointed to the busy craftsmen in the workshop and said, "In these houses, some are making iron helmets, and some are making shoulder guards. We will put more people in those that require more manpower."
"With this kind of separate production, each with its own process, every day, each department of A produces the same quantity."
Of course Ma Jun knew Guanqiu Jian.
Who made Guanqiu Jian so famous in Luoyang? And why was the previous Chief Architect before Ma Jun actually Guanqiu Jian’s father, Guanqiu Xing himself?
Guanqiu Jian understood what he had heard and asked, "If the armor for the armored cavalry is made at the same time, the number of people will change and the order will be disrupted?"
Ma Jun nodded and said, "General Guanqiu is absolutely right."
Cao Rui nodded and asked: "Where are the bows and arrows produced?"
Ma Jun pointed to the right and said, "I am here to lead the way for Your Majesty."
As they walked, Ma Jun explained, "Your Majesty, the so-called crossbow is actually divided into three parts."
"The crossbow, crossbow arm and crossbow mechanism."
"Similar to armor, the parts are made in various places and transported to Luoyang for assembly."
Cao Rui walked to a long table where a crossbow was being assembled. A craftsman nearby wanted to kneel down and worship, but was stopped by Guanqiu Jian, who told him to stand aside and wait.
Cao Rui looked at the crossbow machine and asked: "Where were these transported to Luoyang from?"
Ma Jun replied, "They were all transported from the Tongguan in Hedong. The craftsmen assembled the crossbows here and used files to correct the shape."
Copper is produced in Hedong, and crossbow mechanisms are almost all made of copper.
As he spoke, Ma Jun pointed at the various parts of the crossbow and said, "Your Majesty, the protrusion on top is called a lookout, and it has scale markings. It is used by soldiers to calibrate distance and aim for firing."
Cao Rui nodded. This was similar to the function of a sight.
Ma Jun continued to introduce: "The following are the teeth, hanging blade, ribs, and hooks. These are the parts used to fire the crossbow."
Cao Rui took the assembled crossbow from Ma Jun's hand and gently pulled the hanging knife a few times.
Isn't this the trigger?
Glancing out of the corner of my eye, there seemed to be some inscriptions on the side of the crossbow.
Cao Rui turned around and looked at the inscription sunken into the side of the crossbow, and read it softly: "Made by Hedong Tongguan Bingdu on August 30, the third year of Taihe, by officials Zhang He and Chen Duo, and craftsman Liu Qi."
Although Xu Shu and Pei Qian knew that the names of the craftsmen would be left on such works, it was their first time to observe them in detail, and they couldn't help but look closer.
Cao Rui nodded: "It is a good idea to engrave the name of the craftsman on the object so that there is a trace to be found."
Ma Jun nodded and said, "This method has been around for a long time, but it was not invented by me."
Cao Rui smiled and looked at Ma Jun: "I estimate that this method has been studied for hundreds of years. Although you are ingenious, you are not the first person to do it."
Ma Jun humbly cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty is right. I am just following the old system."
After looking at the crossbow mechanism, Cao Rui continued to walk around the workshop with his hands behind his back under the guidance of Ma Jun.
After saying goodbye to Ma Jun, the few of them rushed back towards the south gate of Luoyang.
At the same time, Shizhong Xinpi Xinzuozhi had just arrived in Chencang.
In the main hall of the General Chen Cang's Mansion, Cao Zhen also ordered craftsmen to imitate the style of the emperor's recliner and made a recliner for himself.
The leather cushions on the recliners are made of different materials depending on the season: tiger skin in winter, bear skin in spring, thin cowhide in summer, and rabbit skin in autumn.
Quite a sense of contentment and happiness.
However, Cao Zhen frowned when he heard the hurried footsteps coming from outside the hall, and looked up at the person who came: "What's the matter, Shuping?"
Yang Dan came over hastily and said in a low voice, "A scout came and said that Minister Xin will arrive in Chencang in another hour."
"Who?"
Cao Zhen sat up straight and stared at Yang Tan: "Your father-in-law Xin Zuozhi? Why is he here?"
Yang Tan shook his head: "I don't know, and the scout didn't tell me either."
After driving Yang Dan away, Cao Zhen paced in the hall for who knows how many times, and finally decided to go out of the city to meet him in person.
To be honest, Cao Zhen and Xin Pi had not seen each other for more than a year.
To the east of Chencang City, General Cao Zhen waited for Xin Pi's carriage.
Someone had already informed Xin Pi of the matter, so he lifted the curtain of the carriage, got off and walked to Cao Zhen's side.
Cao Zhen smiled and asked, "It's been a long time since I last saw George! Why did you come to Chencang today?"
Xin Pi sighed and handed over the letter from His Majesty that he had kept in his arms for ten days: "General, the Grand Marshal passed away unexpectedly in Shouchun half a month ago. Please accept my condolences." (End of this chapter)
