Chapter 587: You Fu's Report (Please vote and subscribe)
"I brought it, but my handwriting is ugly, please don't mind it, Chief."
You Fu handed the long-prepared navigation log to Luo Chong, and then asked tentatively.
"Chief, why are there so many weapons on the roadside? Has our Han tribe formed a new army? Chief, do you plan to mobilize troops against that barbarian tribe?"
Luo Chong nodded slightly. There was nothing to hide from You Fu about this matter, because he was the one who started these things.
"I immediately recruited new soldiers after receiving your letter last month. This time, I directly recruited 4,000 people. Now I have trained the formation for a month. In addition, I also built a military camp. Until now, I haven't even issued military uniforms and weapons, and I haven't started to select military branches. Now the supplies are finally ready, so I plan to send them to them tomorrow." "
So many people! 4,000 new soldiers?" Although You Fu guessed that there might be a lot of recruits this time, he didn't expect that there would be so many. 4,000 people could catch up with a county in Hanyang County.
"Yes, didn't you say that a barbarian tribe killed our crew? Then we can't spoil them. We should just capture them all and make them slaves. Since you said that the other side has more than 2,000 people, if our troops are too few, we can't form an advantage of encirclement." Luo Chong explained helplessly.
As the leader of the Han tribe, Luo Chong naturally knew what it meant to recruit so many soldiers. It seemed very face-saving and made the Han tribe very powerful, but it was also a huge burden for the Han tribe. After all, the total population was less than 100,000, and there were 4,000 troops. Not only did it occupy the labor force of production, but it also consumed huge resources, just like the armor and weapons equipped. Wouldn't it be good to make tools and farm tools with the same iron?
But now there is no way. According to the current situation, the Han tribe will have a population explosion in less than ten years, and then it will expand rapidly. It is impossible not to expand. Don't the new population need to eat? To eat, you always need more fields. Without a large number of cattle and horses, what can you use to farm?
So now that there is an opportunity, the Han tribe will naturally want to get involved in the grassland and seek greater benefits for the Han tribe.
In addition, the demand for metals will increase after the population expands. Tools and farm tools are needed. Without iron, what can be used to make these things? However, if you want to increase the output of steel, you must start the coal mining and coking business. However, where can you get so many people to mine coal? It is not enough to rely on your own people, so you can only go out to capture slaves.
These things seem to have nothing to do with each other, but in fact, a little analysis will find that they are linked together. If any link is missing, it will
not work. Luo Chong cannot change this situation, so even if the Han tribe is in a bit of trouble now, they have to bite the bullet and do things. However, it is obvious that You Fu does not have such a big picture, so he still asked in confusion.
"Chief, I heard Dashu say yesterday that our Han tribe now has nearly 90,000 people. Is the chief still so short of people? You actually formed an army of 4,000 people to capture slaves?"
"Hehe, it's all your fault."
Luo Chong chuckled, which made You Fu look confused. Why did he put such a big pot on his head?
The two walked all the way to the government building, went upstairs, had someone light the lamp, and ordered someone to bring some wine and food. Luo Chong flipped through the navigation log written by You Fu under the lamp and explained to him.
"You discovered the coal mine, right?"
"Yes." But what does this have to do with recruiting soldiers and capturing slaves? You Fu nodded in acknowledgement, then complained in his heart.
"Do you know what we use to smelt iron now?"
"Charcoal?" You Fu asked tentatively.
"That's right, but burning charcoal is too troublesome and inefficient, and it requires cutting down a lot of trees. This is not a solution after all. At the current rate, it will take at least a month to prepare the charcoal needed for a furnace of steel.
So, what is the reason for our current low steel production? Is it because of the lack of iron ore? No, it is because of the limitation of charcoal.
Moreover, the current use of blast furnaces is not optimistic, and the utilization rate of thermal energy is very low. A lot of heat is wasted because there is not enough material. Do
you know what the correct way to use the blast furnace I designed is?"
You Fu shook his head. The chief taught the craftsmen how to smelt iron, and the huge furnace was also designed by the chief. The craftsmen used it as the chief told them to. Who knows what the thing should look like? It's still up to you, the chief.
"If there are enough materials, especially carbon, the blast furnace can keep storing materials inside, and produce molten iron day and night. The output of one day can equal the current half a year. Once the blast furnace is ignited, it cannot be stopped under normal circumstances.
After all, the furnace is so big, and every time it is re-ignited, a lot of carbon will be wasted to burn the furnace to a temperature that can melt iron. We are now refining once a month at the fastest. You know how much heat is wasted every time the fire is turned off.
But it will be different in the future, because the coal mine you found can completely replace charcoal, so as long as we get that coal mine, our Han tribe will no longer lack iron."
Luo Chong once again popularized the use of the blast furnace to You Fu, and the importance of coal to the Han tribe. Even if the Han tribe cannot let all the tribesmen use coal for heating, it is still no problem to use it specifically for iron smelting.
You Fu then understood why the leader said that it was his fault, but it was still wrong. What does the discovery of the coal mine have to do with recruiting soldiers and arresting people? No, I won't take the blame.
Then Luo Chong saw this guy's expression as if it had nothing to do with him. He was so angry. How could this guy be so stupid?
"Don't find someone to mine the coal mine you found? Don't transport and process it after mining. Which link doesn't require manpower? Can you expect our own people to go so far to mine? Then who will grow food for us?
So our tribe is very short of people now. If we are short of people, we can only find a way to catch slaves from outside. It just so happens that you said that someone has offended our Han tribe. If I don't catch them, who should I catch? But if we want to catch them all
, do we need so many soldiers? Besides, you also got a piece of land on the grassland. Do we need soldiers to garrison the new city? How can we do it without so many soldiers?"
Luo Chong listed various reasons one by one, and finally firmly put the pot on You Fu.
Hearing the leader talking about coal mines and grasslands, You Fu knew that he couldn't escape. He looked at Luo Chong with resentment. I'm going to take the blame. Isn't it okay for me to take the blame? It seems like I'm the one who caused all the trouble.
Luo Chong ignored You Fu's gaze, pretending he didn't see it, and quickly flipped through the logbook in his hand. When he saw that the fleet arrived at the sandbar, captured crocodiles, and encountered the raccoon tribe, not only conquered the tribe, but also found a lot of new minerals in the local area, he couldn't help but ask.
"What's going on with that sandbar? How far is it from Liuyang County? Tell me in detail."
"Well, the sandbar is like an island in the middle of the river, but it is made of river sand that is washed down from the river, and it is very loose.
The waters in that section are very open, and there are many such sandbars. It is also rich in a kind of big fish with four legs and a very long mouth, and it can climb ashore. We killed a lot of them there.
As for the raccoon tribe, I recruited them here because they raised an animal that looked like a lynx, but it was smaller than a lynx. I originally planned to buy a few from them and bring them back to raise, but those idiots didn't want to sell, saying that it was their god. I had no choice but to trick them and the people here to get that animal.
As for the minerals over there, there are also several types, and we can't tell the specific ones, but I have asked people to collect samples. We know of a copper mine, and there is definitely copper there, but we don't know how large the reserves are, what quality it is, and whether it is easy to mine, because we haven't conducted a specific exploration."
You Fu was also recalling what happened last month, and then reported to Luo Chong one by one.
At this time, the food that Luo Chong had prepared earlier also arrived. A clerk came in and placed the food and wine on the table before leaving again.
"Have you brought all the things you mentioned?"
"All of them are waiting outside. If the leader wants to see them now, I'll let them in." You Fu pointed to the door and said that there were many of You Fu's men waiting outside with the mineral samples.
"No hurry, eat first, and we'll talk after we finish eating."
The two chatted while eating. Luo Chong flipped through the logbook in his hand and asked about anything interesting.
"By the way, how far is the sandbar you wrote about from Liuyang County? You didn't say it just now. Also, did you collect samples of the sand? Did you bring them back?"
"Well, it took us about half a month to go there. We stopped at the Deer Tribe for a few days. We sailed during the day and stopped at night. If we go there again next time, we can travel day and night and get there in about five days.
We also collected samples of the sand, but, Chief, is there any use for the sand?" You Fu first calculated the distance and time, and then suddenly asked curiously.
"Haha, as the saying goes, God has a purpose. Since this kind of material has appeared in the world, it must have its use, and this sand is no exception.
If it is coarse sand, it can be mixed with lime, gypsum and gravel to form concrete. It can be used to build bridges, roads and buildings. It is a very useful building material.
If it is very pure fine sand, it can be heated and smelted with carbon, alkali, sulfate, chalk and other substances."
"What can be refined?" You Fu asked curiously. Could it be that sand is also a mineral?
"Your brother Youye has mentioned crystal, right?" Luo Chong prompted.
"Yes, I have heard of it. Didn't the leader melt that thing and then cast a magnifying glass?" You Fu answered tentatively.
"Yes, the things I just mentioned, plus sand, can also burn out something like crystal. In other words, it can also be made into a magnifying glass. Although the quality and transparency may not be as good as crystal, there is more sand and it is easier to collect. In other words, the glass made of sand is cheaper and cheaper, and even ordinary people can afford it." Luo Chong explained again.
But there is one thing he didn't make clear. It's not just sand that can burn glass. Calcite, Iceland spar, feldspar, and mica can all be used to burn glass. Anyway, as long as the main component is silicon dioxide, it will be fine. But there is one most important thing Luo Chong didn't say, that is, sand can be replaced at will, but the coal in it cannot be replaced, and coke is a better material. Without this thing, no matter how much sand you get, it will be useless.
You Fu's eyes widened after hearing this, and his face was full of disbelief. He couldn't figure out what the connection was between the inconspicuous sand and the crystal clear glass. However, when he thought of this, he became confused again, so he asked.
"Chief, what are we doing with so much glass? Even if the magnifying glass is cheap, ordinary people won't buy it, right?"
"Who told you that glass can only be used to make magnifying glasses? Glass is like ceramics. You can shape it in any way you want. You can even make a container with glass, and it's a transparent container. Just imagine.
Not only that, we can also make glass into a thin transparent flat plate to replace window paper. Just imagine, if the window can be replaced with glass that can both transmit light and block wind and rain, what will it look like?"
You Fu's eyes widened again after listening to Luo Chong's description. Oh my God, how can this chief have such a bright mind? It's obviously the same thing, but the chief can think of so many ways to play with it.
Just like when the Han tribe fired ceramic vessels in the past, everyone thought that it was just a container for holding water and rice. As a result, within a few days, the leader turned the porcelain into glazed tiles and directly covered the roof. Just when everyone thought it was incredible, a few days later, the porcelain turned into tiles and was laid on the ground by the leader.
Speaking of which, no one in the Han tribe disagreed with the leader's wild imagination. This time, it was just a piece of glass, but the leader could think of so many uses.
After thinking about it, You Fu immediately bowed his hands in admiration, "All is up to the leader's arrangement."
After the two had dinner, You Fu took Luo Chong to personally check the various things they brought back, including shiny black coal, blue-purple chalcocite, red cinnabar (mercury), several different types of sand from coarse to fine, the raccoon cats of the raccoon tribe, crocodile meat and crocodile skin produced on the sandbar, and the honey of the Jiang family, the seeds of two crops, millet and yellow rice, and the mineral salt that Jiang Yong carried back from the west bank of the river.
"Have you found out the location of this salt mine? Did they collect it themselves or did they exchange it with others? The salt production of our Han tribe is insufficient, so we must have a new mine. I'll give you a task, find out the news about this new salt mine.
Forget it, didn't you say that the Jiang family knew about it? Just ask them directly when you summon them tomorrow." Luo Chong said as he looked at the salt in front of him.
(End of this chapter)
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