novelAbuy Chapter 339 Production Capacity
Chapter 339 Production Capacity
Since Shao Shuyi had asked the question, Zhou Chun, as the craftsman closest to him in the miscellaneous workshop, naturally couldn't remain silent. He said, "Shao She, as of yesterday, the ironworks department had completed five sets of iron armor that were half-finished. Of the remaining seven sets of old armor, four sets had been repaired, and three sets were still being made..."
Shao Shuyi nodded repeatedly and asked, "Is there any trouble?"
"We're short-handed," Zhou Chun said. "We're using the steel from the Miscellaneous Workshop's stock. Each suit of iron armor weighs about forty pounds, and the armor plates are forged by seven craftsmen..."
After Zhou Chun explained it to him, Shao Shuyi finally understood.
Simply put, forging armor plates is a highly technical skill. Zhou Chun arranged for seven craftsmen, including himself, to focus on forging them. Each month, they could forge about six sets of armor plates needed for iron armor. When they had free time, they would prepare charcoal or make some small iron gadgets, such as farm tools.
Of the twenty-one apprentices, four were responsible for drilling holes in the finished nail plates, three were responsible for sanding the edges of the nail plates, and fourteen were responsible for twisting leather cords, weaving, attaching linings, and applying paint.
Because of the mismatch between the work efficiency of craftsmen and apprentices, only four sets of iron armor can actually be completed each month, with a chance of five. This is based on the efficiency of using the miscellaneous workshop's stock of steel forging; if we calculate from the time of iron smelting, the results are hard to predict.
To put it bluntly, there's a shortage of manpower; Zhou Chun needs more people.
Shao Shuyi thought for a moment and said, "Jiang Xingtuo has some blacksmith apprentices. I can recall them and put them under your management. You can arrange their work as you see fit. If any apprentices are skilled enough to forge armor plates on their own, feel free to promote them. After the first month of next year, you will all focus on forging iron armor. You must complete at least five suits for me each month."
"Okay," Zhou Chun replied.
Shao Shuyi did the math: of the 112 soldiers in the eight squads on Ma Tuo Sha's side, 27 sets of iron armor were already equipped, about a quarter of them, which was actually quite good. He remembered that during the Tang Dynasty's heyday, the iron armor equipment rate of the main force was over 60%, and it was even more exaggerated in the Song Dynasty, although the use of coal to smelt iron resulted in poor quality Song armor.
His 27 suits of iron armor, including the old ones and the ones he "borrowed," were all forged using mulberry charcoal. However, some of the armor was made entirely by artisans of the Yuan Dynasty under extremely poor living conditions, so it's hard to say what the quality was like.
Even a small nail plate can vary greatly in cost, time, and protective power depending on whether it is made of good materials and crafted with care.
After Zhou Chun finished speaking, Li Sanliu from the carpentry department raised a second question: "Shao She, nowadays, our department can't make anything except gun barrels, shields, scabbards, knife handles, and whips. Why not let us go out and build houses to earn some money?"
Shao Shuyi, somewhat curious, asked, "What did you do when you had no work to do at the Changzhou Miscellaneous Workshop?"
"Making furniture, beams, and pillars for others."
Shao Shuyi nodded slightly, understanding.
To be honest, the woodworking department's production capacity is quite astonishing. Li Sanliu had mentioned before that they had a large stockpile of good timber, and with their thirty-odd men working at full capacity, they could produce about eight hundred spear shafts, five hundred knife handles, over a hundred shields, and more than three hundred scabbards from the looted timber within a month. The ironworking department, on the other hand, needed to forge iron armor, so they produced very few spearheads; otherwise, they would already have eight hundred spears by now.
Shao Shuyi was speechless after hearing this. That's why pikemen are so cheap; a spearhead costs only a few ounces of iron, and with a little training, they're ready to fight in formation. Before peasant uprisings could seize armories or artisans, unarmored pikemen were their main force—they were incredibly inexpensive.
If this were the infantry spears commonly used by infantry during the Northern and Southern Dynasties and the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the cost would skyrocket, no wonder it was phased out.
"Now that houses are being built everywhere, there is indeed a severe shortage of carpenters," Shao Shuyi said. "Very well, you can all apply to become house managers and go out to do the work in shifts. You don't need to pay tribute to anyone for your earnings."
"Thank you, Shaoshe," Li Sanliu said happily.
Shao Shuyi waved his hand.
He certainly doesn't lack spears, scabbards, whips, or sword handles right now, and his production capacity is more than sufficient. In a few days, he can distribute the stockpiled spears to some of the local able-bodied men who have participated in the training, thus completely eliminating bamboo spears and wooden lances.
Thinking of this, he looked at Cao Zhuan of the Xiepi Department and asked, "If you dozen or so people work hard to forge leather armor, boots, and belts, how many can you make in a month?"
He now actually understands a little about the production and manufacturing of leather armor. In fact, the production cycle for this thing is longer than that for iron armor because it requires tanning, drying, and so on, which takes a long time. Its only advantage is that it is cheap.
"Every three months, we can supply a maximum of thirty sets of leather armor, three hundred and sixty pairs of leather boots, and about three hundred leather belts," Cao Zhuan said. "If there is spare time, we can also make some leather water bags and leather food bags (to be wrapped around the waist)."
Shao Shuyi was very pleased to hear this.
This is the production capacity of his "arsenal": five sets of iron armor, ten sets of leather armor, one hundred belts, and one hundred and twenty pairs of leather boots per month. As for swords, spears, shields, and the like, the production capacity has already exceeded that.
As the earliest rebels to prepare for the chaos of the Yuan Dynasty, how could they not understand their own basic military production capabilities?
Shao Shuyi felt that he was not the kind of person who charmed and incited, nor was he the kind of person who relied on empty talk and emotional outbursts; rather, he was an operational rebel.
The world is material, and war is a serious science. Any action that neglects finance and production is like water without a source and is bound to fail. Shao Shuyi then chatted with the others and helped them solve some practical difficulties. He also learned that if the textile and dyeing department bought back the looms from the miscellaneous workshops—which were too big and inconvenient to move—they could produce about a hundred bolts of cloth and a number of embroidered items per month.
When raw materials are plentiful, the production department can sew 400 sets of military uniforms and 20 tents per month.
Using existing raw materials, the pharmaceutical department can produce 500 catties of various medicines per month, including Fangfeng Tongsheng San, Huoxiang Zhengqi San, Hezhong Yiqi Wan, Shixiao San, and Suhexiang Wan.
With sufficient raw materials, Jin Yuke can produce twenty crowns and fifty pieces of jewelry per month.
The miscellaneous construction department is still lacking some tools. If everything were ready, they could produce over a thousand printed sheets, a thousand kilograms of hemp rope, five hundred glazed tiles, and three thousand arrow shafts each month...
Cloth, dyes, medicines, jewelry, hats, clothing, hemp ropes, glazed tiles, etc., could be used for military purposes or sold for money.
Shao Shuyi's strategy was to prioritize military production, then convert military production to civilian use to generate some revenue and alleviate some financial pressure. Overall, he was quite satisfied with all of this. His next step was to continuously recruit new artisans, expand production scale and product range, and prepare for the chaos to come.
After making his rounds, Shao Shuyi sent gifts to each household—not many, just five dou of rice, two salted fish, a preserved chicken, and two sheng of Jiangyin Laojiao liquor. With these New Year's gifts distributed, the artisans' resentment dissipated somewhat.
Before leaving, Shao Shuyi called several section chiefs together and said, "As the saying goes, 'Since you're here, make the best of it.' Don't even think about going back to Changzhou. Besides, that place isn't peaceful either. The troops from the Taizhou Wanhu Prefecture transferred from Jiangbei arrived, and before they even fought the Xiang Army, they started looting the people, claiming, 'We're suffering, so we're taking our own provisions.' Think about it carefully. If you continue to stay there, won't you be harassed by the mutinous soldiers?"
"Shao She, how is the Xiang Army doing?" Zhou Chun couldn't help but ask. "I still have relatives in Changzhou, and I'm really worried." "As far as I know, the Xiang Army suffered a defeat a few days ago, with heavy casualties, and retreated to Danyang," Shao Shuyi said. "The Zhenjiang Wanhu Prefecture has fought three battles, large and small, against the Danyang Xiang Army, winning two and losing one, and has already gained the upper hand. Miaoxin Nunnery was captured by the government troops, and Jueming, one of the Xiang Army leaders, was killed in battle. I estimate that by the first month of the lunar calendar, the matter should be settled."
Zhou Chun felt a little relieved after hearing this.
"If you are worried about your relatives, I can find a way to bring them to Ma Tuo Sha," Shao Shuyi continued. "Anyway, there's plenty of wasteland here; I'll take care of them during the reclamation period."
The people present reacted with varying expressions upon hearing this.
To be fair, although they were kidnapped and closely monitored, they were indeed well-fed and clothed here, which was a significant improvement over their previous lives.
However, people yearn to live in bustling places and prefer freedom, so life in Matuosha has both advantages and disadvantages. They are also reluctant to call their relatives over, preferring to wait and see.
Shao Shuyi had a clear understanding of their thoughts.
Just focus on producing all kinds of military supplies and goods for me; nothing else matters. We can take it slow.
One day, everyone will realize how precious a stable life is.
On the 24th, after spending several days wandering around Matuosha and distributing New Year's gifts to various departments, Shao Shuyi arrived at Huangtian Port by boat. It was at this time that he learned his "old friend," Zhang Yang, the Prefect of Jiangyin, was being transferred after the New Year to the position of Chief Clerk of Changzhou Road. In terms of rank, it was a promotion, but Shao Shuyi felt something was amiss. Was this a way of cutting off his "wings" in Jiangyin?
The new prefect has not yet been appointed. I heard that he will be transferred from the province and may be a Mongol or Semu official.
Upon learning this, Shao Shuyi became even more certain of his suspicions. The people in Hangzhou were still quite wary of him, constantly making underhanded moves, but he didn't know who was behind it.
In addition, there was a widely circulated rumor in Hangzhou: for his meritorious service in suppressing the rioters in Tingzhou, the emperor personally bestowed upon Duo'er, the Left Chancellor of the Jiangzhe Province, a set of nine-dragon robes as a sign of imperial favor.
This could be a signal, or it could not; we'll have to observe it further.
After listening, Shao Shuyi put these matters aside for the time being.
After a busy year, it's time to enjoy the New Year. Even the most important matters can wait until after the New Year.
Furthermore, a group of guests from Wen's side have come and are staying in Jiangyin for the Spring Festival, which may be helpful for the big business next year.