Chapter 1019 Datang's Opportunity Has Come
Shen Long did not entertain Guo Xin, Yang Xigu and his party, but took them to the barracks and had a meal with the soldiers. The food was exactly the same as that of the soldiers, stewed corn with potatoes, a piece of steamed bun and an egg.
Guo Xin, Yang Xigu and others ate very happily. They have been able to persist in the Western Regions for so long, so they naturally understand the principle of one body. Moreover, to be honest, they usually don’t eat so much in Kucha and Xizhou. good.
"Yuanzheng's army has a lot of ignorance!" After eating, Guo Xin praised, Cheng Bushi was a famous general in the Han Dynasty, and he was known for his rigorous military management. This is a compliment to Shen Long's style of a famous general.
"Cheng Bushi may not be as good as Yuanzheng in farming!" Yang Xigu pondered, there is no record in the history books that Cheng Bushi can make soldiers eat eggs every day, right?
Moreover, Shen Long can also smelt iron to make weapons. If it is placed in a feudal town in the Tang Dynasty, the imperial court should be worried if that feudal town can solve the problem of military rations and weapons by itself, but now it is in the Western Regions, and Shen Long's men only have this Yang Xigu and Guo Xin didn't bother to think about people.
They even hope that Shen Long will become stronger and stronger. Now there are only three cities left in Anxi Duhufu and Beiting Duhufu, which are Qiuci, Xizhou and Juliucheng District. The glory of Datang came again.
After resting for one night, Shen Long took them to visit the iron yard and the weapon-making factory the next day. Shen Long's coal mining expertise played a huge role at this time, and the high-quality coal was continuously transported from the mine , and then processed into coke, using coke to smelt iron, the quality of the smelted steel is far better than that of Datang.
Moreover, Shen Long established a rule in Juliu City that he usually uses coal for cooking and heating, which can save a lot of grass and wood. The Western Regions originally had little vegetation, so it is too wasteful to use it to make a fire. The grass can be raised Cattle and sheep, wood can be used to make weapons and build houses, which are more cost-effective than lighting fire.
When they arrived at the hydraulic forging workshop by the river, Guo Xin and Yang Xigu were dumbfounded when they heard the thunderous forging sound. Could it be that Lei Gong had descended to earth?
Entering inside, seeing the iron blocks being hammered by the hydraulic forging hammer, like dough being kneaded into shape, gradually showing the appearance of armor, Guo Xin and Yang Xigu secretly calculated that this is the most troublesome part of making armor. The forging work here is so easy. The craftsmen only need to grind off the burrs of these forged parts, punch holes and connect them in series with leather ropes to form a complete set of armor.
Although this armor is not as good-looking as the Mingguang armor carefully crafted by Datang, its protective power is not weak at all, and it is lighter in weight. Soldiers can fight for a longer period of time wearing this armor.
"Yuanzheng! If this is the case, it won't be long before I, under the command of Anxi Dufu and Beiting Duhu, will be able to put on iron armor for all the soldiers?" Such a calculation immediately scared Yang Xigu and Guo Xin A big jump, even when the Silk Road was smooth, the Tang army was not rich enough to put on iron armor for every soldier, right?
How come they are so rich now that the trade route is broken? And... and I heard that the territory of Datang has been restless recently, maybe we can transport these armors back to support Datang, right?
Of course, this is just a thought. Ironware is extremely precious to the Uighurs and Tubo. If the caravans of the Tang Dynasty dare to transport iron armor into the territory of the Uighur, I am afraid that even if the Uighur nobles turn their faces, they will leave this batch of iron armor Bar? If you want to use the iron armor of the Western Regions to support Datang, I am afraid that you will have to wait until the Longyou Road is opened up again.
"Of course, in addition to iron armor, horizontal knives, and spears, iron farm tools will also be made here. With these, it will be easier to farm in the future!" Previously due to lack of iron,
Shen Long can only make some wooden farm tools such as seeders, but now that he has enough iron, he can make steel plows, iron hoes and other more efficient and labor-saving farm tools.
After all the agricultural tools have been replaced, the efficiency of farming will increase; this is where the industrial system is better than the agricultural system, although Shen Long only established a small iron smelting industrial center in Juliu City. The village-level factories in the country are no match, but in this era, it is enough to beat the Western Regions.
"There are also iron pots here, which are ready to be sold to the surrounding tribes as commodities. We can use these to redeem the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty who fell into the hands of the enemy, buy women, and draw them to our side. During this time, Shen Long redeemed many soldiers of the Tang Dynasty. They changed from slaves to proud citizens of the Tang Dynasty. They have married wives and settled down in the city, working hard for the future of Juliu City.
Most of these people may no longer be able to fight, but their experience can still provide Shen Long with a lot of help, such as building weapons, farming, watching the night and even teaching and learning. They can be seen everywhere in the city; The people of Tang Dynasty were much better than the slaves bought by Shen Long.
"Yuanzheng! Don't let the ironware fall into their hands!" Throughout the dynasties, the Central Plains Dynasty was full of vigilance against the export of ironware. Guo Xin was worried that Shen Long would do something wrong.
"You don't have to worry, the king of the county." As Shen Long said, he smashed a newly cast pot and showed him the cracks in the iron pot. It would be a waste of effort to melt iron into weapons, even if they could be made into swords, they would break easily."
Shen Long still knew this simpler knowledge of alloys. He had someone melt the broken iron pot and cast a horizontal knife, and then slashed against the horizontal knife of an ordinary soldier. The knife shattered.
Only then did Guo Xin and Yang Xigu feel relieved. In fact, if they were not worried about being too scary, Shen Long would have planned to engage in arms trade in the Western Regions. Selling armor and swords would be much more profitable than selling iron pots, and it would be easier to trade in various tribes. Create conflicts among them and divide them to win opportunities for themselves.
As for your own safety, you don't have to worry about it. After a few years, Shen Long will be able to forge hot weapons. In front of muskets, even the best armor is useless.
Guo Xin and Yang Xigu stayed in Juliu City for more than a month, and visited everywhere under the guidance of the guide every day. Every time they saw something novel, they had more hope in their hearts.
They haven't watched it enough yet, but a messenger from Xizhou interrupts their investigation. The Uighur Grand Minister Jie Yugas sent an envoy to Xizhou, asking Yang Xigu to lead an army with him to crusade against Beiting.
If it was before, Guo Xin and Yang Xigu must have been worried, but now, both of them and Shen Long have the same idea: Datang's opportunity has come!
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Sogou