Chapter 21: 'New-Style Weapon' (Collected!)

  Following Wei Zheng out of the training ground, Wang Feng still hadn't recovered from his excitement and fervor.

  His face flushed with excitement, he said to Wei Zheng with a sigh: "General, what you just said is great. I dare to guarantee that if you had just spoken those words, even if it meant the soldiers would die immediately, they would still nod in agreement without hesitation."

  "There's also the name 'Trap Array', which is really too powerful. Just by hearing the name, the enemy will know that our Long Gun Squad is an invincible elite unit that specializes in breaking through enemy lines on the battlefield and completing tasks that ordinary units can't accomplish."

  Wei Zheng nodded and a smile appeared on his serious face. He replied to Wang Feng.

  "Brother Wang, stop flattering... whether the Long Gun Squad can live up to its name 'Trap Array' depends on your subsequent training. If you don't train well, I'll be too embarrassed to even mention this name."

  At this point, Wei Zheng's face flashed with a hint of seriousness again, and he said to Wei Zheng.

  "I've already said it in front of all the officers, the long spear team's training volume from now on will absolutely far exceed that of ordinary troops. In addition to the current situation, your long spear team must seize every opportunity to train..."

  "My suggestion is that the long spear team starts from tonight, and every night adds one hour of practice. At that time, I will ask the kitchen to prepare a midnight snack for everyone to eat well... In short, three days later, we must make sure the long spear team can be pulled out..."

  Wang Feng also became serious, facing Wei Zheng loudly guaranteeing: "Please rest assured, General, as long as sufficient meat supplies can be guaranteed, the Long Gun Squad can train for five hours a day. Therefore, in three days' time, preliminary combat effectiveness will be formed, no problem at all..."

  "Wei Zheng nodded with a satisfied expression: 'You just focus on training your troops, I'll take care of everything else...'"

  Wei Zheng had just stepped into the assembly hall when Zhao Yun followed closely behind him.

  At the same time, five faces with a hint of blood color also followed behind Wei Zheng and walked in.

  Upon seeing this, Wei Zhen immediately remembered the two tasks he had assigned to Zhao Yun in the afternoon.

  Just as Wei Zheng was about to shift his gaze to several of his subordinates, a few people hastily knelt down in front of him and said with a sincere and fearful expression: "We have seen the general..."

  "Everyone, get up... Several brothers, all get up... Have you forgotten the military rules I said when the Tiger and Leopard Army was founded? In our Tiger and Leopard Army, there is only a military salute, no kneeling..." Wei Zheng's eyebrows furrowed slightly as he spoke with a hint of dissatisfaction.

  "Thank you, General....."

  Several people stood up one after another, and Wei Zheng directly asked Zhao Yun: "Brother Zhao, are these the craftsmen I am looking for?"

  "General, these three are the blacksmiths you asked me to find. The remaining four are carpenters. I found them after inquiring with everyone in our Tiger and Leopard Brigade."

  "Moreover, I searched the entire stronghold and added to it the large quantity of ironware and excess armor we seized at Mògū Yù, totaling 2,500 catties of ironware. I have already had these ironware stored behind the military camp, and as soon as Your Excellency wants to use them, they can be sent over immediately..."

  Just returned from the training ground and heard another good news, Wei Zheng's mood can be described as great.

  Facing Zhao Yun, he sighed: "Two thousand five hundred catties, that's enough..."

  "Even if calculated at two catties of iron per gun barrel, 2,500 catties would be enough to cast over 1,200 gun barrels..."

  "General, are you going to forge a long spearhead..."

  Wei Zheng shook his head and replied: "Although our number of long spears is still far from sufficient, the long spear is not the most urgent weapon we need..."

  "I'm going to create a kind of weapon that everyone has heard of, and in the official army, it's called a 'chicken rib'..."

  A middle-aged man who was once a craftsman and had also made weapons for the army immediately understood what Wei Zheng said, and whispered: "General, are you going to make a spear-throwing...?"

  "As far as I know, in many official armies, because the throwing distance of spears is too short, they are far inferior to bows and guns in terms of attack range, and have basically no threat to Mongolian cavalry, and have been successively eliminated..."

  After casting a glance full of appreciation at the craftsman, he asked with interest: "I don't know what this brother is, but you seem to be very familiar with the performance of various weapons in the official army equipment."

  The blacksmith who had just spoken hastily stood up and said with a terrified face: "Report to the general, my name is Wang Tiezhong. I was originally an army blacksmith. It's just that our superiors are too harsh, and we craftsmen have been getting worse off in the garrison every year. In order to survive, we had no choice but to leave the garrison and drift here..."

  Upon hearing this, Wei Zheng's mind quickly sprang into action: it turned out that under the Ming dynasty's military household system, the craftsmen households in the guards not only had to undertake some of the ironwork production tasks of the guards, but also had to undertake the annual weapons forging tasks of the Ministry of War.

  So, the military craftsmen of this era almost all mastered a very fine forging technique. The various infantry weapons in the Ming army, as long as they were given raw materials, could almost all be forged by them.

  More than 200 people can find a talent like this, which is enough to show how good their luck is.

  For a moment, Wei Zheng's gaze at Wang Tiezhong in front of him can be described as scorching. Facing Wang Tiezhong with an expectant expression, he asked: "Brother Wang, I want to know, what kind of weapons did you forge when you were at the Wei Arsenal? What kind of weapons are you good at forging?"

  Seeing the general value himself so much, a hint of heartfelt excitement flashed across Wang Tiezhong's weathered face. His eyes also couldn't help but be filled with hot tears...

  In the past, in the Wei and So, craftsmen were absolutely the lowest class of people. Not only did they suffer from exploitation and oppression by military officers at all levels of the Wei and So, but ordinary soldiers with the same status as themselves also oppressed them through various means.

  It can be said with certainty that since having this identity as a craftsman, I have never been looked up to by others.

  Just then, Zhao Yun, who had some understanding of these craftsmen, suddenly spoke up: "Brother Wang, don't get excited yet, the general is still waiting for your answer..."

  "Yes, Captain Zhao....." Wang Tiesheng hastily wiped his already red eyes with his sleeve and reported to Wei Zheng.

  "Report to the General... In the past, when I was at the Wei's place, I not only forged ordinary large knives, long guns and iron armor, but also forged firearms. However, due to the strict requirements of our superiors for raw materials, the firearms we forged could fire at most three times before the barrel would burst due to its thinness, making them basically unusable..."

  The other side will not only forge conventional weapons but also firearms.

  Upon hearing this answer, Wei Zheng couldn't help but let out a cry of surprise: "I've picked up a treasure....."

  Excited Wei Zheng didn't think twice and ordered the man in front of him, Wang Tiezhong: "Brother Wang, since you know so many things, I'll appoint you as the head of our Tiger Leopard Army's weapons manufacturing factory, specializing in forging various weapons for my Tiger Leopard Army..."

  At this moment, Wang Tiezhong did not believe what Wei Zheng said in front of him, and he had actually become an official in the Hu Bao army.

  Until Zhao Yun reminded him, Wang Tiezhong, who was in a daze, finally came to his senses and excitedly promised Wei Zheng: "Thank you, General... I, no, your humble servant, will definitely help the general manage the arsenal well and forge more and better weapons for our Hu Bao army..."

  "Alright, I trust you... However, since our Tiger Leopard Army doesn't have many people yet, the most I can give you is ten people for the arms manufacturing factory. The few people behind you will be under your command starting today. As for the remaining people, I'll get Captain Zhao to send them over to you. Additionally, I'll also get Captain Zhao to set aside a plot of land at the rear of the military camp specifically for the arms manufacturing factory."

  "It is... General..." Zhao Yun and Wang Tiejun said in unison.

  After confirming the matter of the arsenal, Wei Zheng immediately shifted the topic to his own spear.

  "Facing Wang Tiezhong, who was still in a state of excitement, he loudly commanded: 'Wang Zhuren, I can only give you one day to repair the iron furnace. Whatever Zhao Team Leader prepares for you, you must do it. One day later, the arsenal must go all out to manufacture spears. I don't care what method you use, three days later, I want you to produce 500 spears and hand them over to me...'"

  "Please be assured, General, even if it costs us our lives, we will produce 500 fire lances..." Wang Tiangzhong guaranteed loudly.

  "Wei Zheng's face was filled with satisfaction as he replied: 'Very good... after the spear is forged, I have an important task for you to complete.'"

  After finishing, Wei Zheng directly turned his head to entrust Zhao Yun: "Zhao brother, whatever Wang Zhong needs, you must try your best to satisfy. Because the 500 seemingly simple javelins will decide whether we can get through this disaster."