Chapter 606: The Expedition is Imminent (Please vote and subscribe)
During the days of training the formation in the military camp, Luo Chong was also planning the development plan for next year, especially the continued expansion of the Han tribe. As long as Luo Chong was still alive and as long as this continent had not been completely occupied by the Han tribe, the expansion of the Han tribe would definitely not stop.
There are several main aspects of the development plan for next year. The first is to send troops to attack the barbarian tribe and capture some captives to work. The second is to occupy a new salt mine, and finally to bring back more than 2,000 people from the Youjiang family.
As for the residence of the Youjiang family, Luo Chong has already thought about it. When the army goes out in the spring, this military camp will be vacant. At that time, it will be just right for the Youjiang family to live. The camp that can accommodate more than 4,000 people can accommodate the 2,000 people of the Youjiang family.
Let them gain a foothold in the military camp first, and then build a new city during the slack season, so that they can all live in the new house in winter.
However, as in the past practice, the Jiang clan will also be split up. Some will form the Xingang County with the newcomers of Weishan County, and some will be directly divided into several counties under the jurisdiction of Hanyang County to disperse their clan power.
Xingang County is also one of the key points of construction next year. The more people the Han tribe has, the larger the territory, and the greater the demand for steel, which will speed up the construction of Xingang County.
These are the new internal construction projects, and the external construction is divided into three aspects. The first is the chemical plant on the island in the middle of the lake, the second is the construction of new counties in the coal mining area, and the third is the construction of the grassland city.
The other things had been planned before, the key was the construction of a new city in the coal mining area. Luo Chong had not paid much attention to that area before, but a few days ago, Jing Yan, who was stationed on the shore of the Deer Tribe, sent back a year-end report, detailing the construction situation there and the exploration of the coal mine. In this report, Jing Yan just mentioned "inadvertently" that he had gathered more than 6,000 people there using the labor market method.
Luo Chong knew that these people could not all be laborers, and they must be counted together with their families. Excluding the elderly, the weak, women and children, it would be good to have 1,500 young and strong people. However, even if this population number could not be called a county, it would be fine to use the establishment of a county town. However, because it was a new area, it would be fine to set up a county directly.
This was Jing Yan's cunning. He wrote in detail about the construction of the dock, the repair of the cargo yard and the warehouse, but he only mentioned the population in passing. However, this attracted Luo Chong's attention and made him interested in how he got so many people. It was impossible not to ask, and asking him was just right for him to show off.
Luo Chong analyzed that the purpose of his doing so was nothing more than to let himself see his ability, so that he could get an official position for himself, preferably a county governor or something.
Since he had seen through his little thoughts, he was too lazy to play dumb with him. Luo Chong directly replied to Jing Yan, handed in the account books of population and land, and directly appointed him as the county governor. The seeds, farm tools, oxen, tools and other items required were all distributed according to the registered population. Next year, he was asked to prepare to build a new city, and he was also allowed to choose the site. He had to report to him about anything he wanted. He must build a city before the winter of next year, otherwise he would be dismissed.
Aren’t you capable? Then just build a city yourself.
After receiving this reply, Jing Yan smiled bitterly while holding the letter, half happy and half sad. He was happy that his dream had come true and the leader really gave him the position of county governor. He was worried that the leader actually asked him to build a county city by himself, and it had to be completed before the winter of next year. Isn’t this difficult for himself?
Fortunately, the leader agreed to provide material support. If there were no tools, how could he build the city? The problem now was the manpower issue. He only had more than a thousand laborers. If they were all used to build the city, he would not be able to do other work.
Jing Yan put down the letter, rubbed his face with both hands, and made a decision in his heart. It seemed that he had to find a way to get more people.
Finally, looking at the name given by the leader for the new county in the letter, a raging fighting spirit broke out in Jing Yan's heart again.
"Dongxin County, east of Liuyang River, is a place rich in firewood and carbon. From now on, I will be the Jing County Governor of Dongxin County."
******
At the end of December that year, the long winter was half over. This day was the time for You Zhi to set off for the grassland. Luo Chong did not see him off, but when You Zhi was about to leave, he rushed back from the military camp to summon him once, and once again told him the focus of future work, especially the matter of finding a site for the new city, because spring was about to begin and time was urgent, so he had to urge You Zhi to hurry up.
After You Zhi left, Luo Chong did not return to the barracks. After several months of training, the soldiers were already familiar with various training subjects. Now they just needed to practice hard.
However, the expedition was imminent, and the construction of ships to transport soldiers was also a focus, so he had to go out to the shipyard in Liuyang County to take a look. However, when he was leaving, he was suddenly stopped by Xiaodie.
"Husband, are you going out again?"
Xiaodie stopped Luo Chong with a seven-month-old belly, and the other pregnant Zhan Ying also looked at him, but she never spoke first when Xiaodie was around.
"Yes, I'm going to Liuyang County for a few days to see the progress of shipbuilding there." Luo Chong put on a bearskin cloak and turned around and said.
"Husband, mother said that our child will be born in more than two months. Can you come back by then? I'm scared without you." Xiaodie said with some pleading, and Zhan Ying also looked at him with a wronged expression.
Luo Chong couldn't help but blink, and suddenly his head twitched, thinking that Xiaodie was a little hypocritical, but after the twitch, he suddenly remembered.
"Oh - this is not the era of advanced medical care in the previous life. Giving birth is still very dangerous. Giving birth now is a matter of life and death. What if Xiaodie is not there when she gives birth? If she dies, then I won't be able to see her for the last time. It is said that a husband and wife will be grateful for a hundred days of love. They have eaten and slept together for so many years. How can they not have feelings for each other? So Xiaodie's request is not excessive."
However, he is the leader of the Han tribe. There are so many things to do. How can he take care of everything at home and outside?
Luo Chong thought about it, turned around and helped Xiaodie sit on the kang, and then said to her.
"I will definitely go to see the shipyard. I originally planned to lead the troops to the battle before the spring, but looking at the time of you two, I am afraid I will not be able to catch up."
Xiaodie and Zhan Ying felt even more wronged when they heard that Luo Chong was still going to fight. What if their husbands were not around to give birth? Xiaodie immediately prepared to keep him.
But Luo Chong pressed her lips with his fingers before she could speak.
"You two are going to give birth, so I must be by your side. How about this, you talk to your mother-in-law later and ask her not to worry about the workshop for now. I will stay with you two for the next few months and help take care of you.
As for me, I will go to the shipyard first and then arrange the expedition. I will definitely come back before you two give birth. Is that okay?" Luo Chong said softly.
Xiaodie smiled immediately after hearing this, hummed, and kissed Luo Chong on the face.
Then Luo Chong said again, "You two should exercise more on sunny days. Don't just lie or sit. Take a walk more. This will keep you healthy and give birth more smoothly. But don't get tired. Just pay attention to yourself.
Also, ask mother-in-law to find a few more women with childbirth experience in the city. Contact them first so that they can help when the time comes."
"Well, I know. Husband, go quickly. Remember to come back early. Sister Ying and I are waiting for you." Xiaodie was no longer worried after hearing Luo Chong's instructions and arrangements. She helped Luo Chong straighten his collar and started to drive Luo Chong away.
Luo Chong had no choice but to kiss each of the two women on the forehead before going out to Liuyang County.
But he was always entangled on the road. He was really ready to lead the expedition in person. This time, he directly mobilized more than 4,000 elite troops, but neither the soldiers nor the generals had any serious combat experience. In this case, could Luo Chong rest assured?
But both of his women had children at this critical moment, which completely disrupted his plan. That was the first time that Luo Chong became a father in his two lives. It would be a lie to say that he was not nervous.
Both sides were very important. Which side should he take care of? Luo Chong began to struggle for a while. He couldn't take two wives who might give birth at
any time to go to the imperial army. In such a struggle, Luo Chong came to the shipyard of Liuyang County again. The original two-masted sailing ship workshop was empty, and the last batch of four two-masted sailing ships had been launched.
In the new factory area not far away, white steam was steaming in a shed. Countless workers were constantly drawing water from the well, and some people in the shed were busy moving shipboards.
This was a steaming workshop, with hundreds of large steamers neatly arranged inside. Each steamer was thirty meters long, and there were twenty-five stoves under the steamer. Each steamer had a stoker who was responsible for watching the flame of the stove.
Under the stoker, there are also odd jobs for carrying firewood and adding water, all of which are temporary workers recruited temporarily.
In shipbuilding, especially the construction of wooden sailboats, in addition to splicing and bending the keel to shape it, all the outer shell planks must be steamed in a steamer to soften the planks, otherwise the dry and hard wood boards cannot be bent and fit on the curved hull.
When installing the planks, the planks must be arranged tightly without leaving any gaps in the middle. However, after the planks cool down, due to thermal expansion and contraction, there will still be gaps in the middle of each plank, but it doesn't matter, there is still a waterproof workshop behind to deal with it.
In this shipbuilding task, those odd jobs recruited temporarily came in handy. All the handling work on the construction site was handed over to these people, so that all the craftsmen could join the ranks of shipbuilding.
Luo Chong inspected the keel workshop from the material preparation workshop and found that there were not many people here. Only a few masters were holding tape measures and drawings, directing a group of temporary workers to work. Luo Chong went over to ask and found out that they had almost completed the tasks he had assigned. The keel of the last building ship had been assembled. Now the one being built was a sunken sand-carrying ship that was not on order.
Luo Chong nodded, praised the workers happily, and then couldn't wait to go to the shipboard installation workshop.
Unlike the deserted just now, the work scene here was very lively. Due to the sufficient manpower, the whole shipboard installation process was carried out in a fully surrounded way. The
tall hull was surrounded by a circle of bamboo scaffolding. The shipboard was installed on both sides of the hull at the same time. There were two groups of people moving closer to each other on the upper and lower sides. There was another group of people at the stern who were specifically laying the stern outer plate. In those places that had not been sealed, Luo Chong could also see that there were several groups of people working at the same time in the four-story cabin inside the ship.
The board sealing workshop is the busiest and most labor-intensive one in the entire shipbuilding process. It is responsible for the structural construction of the entire hull. Now seeing this all-round construction method from top to bottom and from inside to outside, Luo Chong is very excited, because the purpose of doing so is to maximize the construction speed.
Luo Chong found the person in charge of the workshop and asked about it. The other party confidently guaranteed that as long as the materials were available, they could complete the installation of the shipboard within ten days. This made Luo Chong very happy. He immediately told the workers in the entire workshop that when all the new ships were launched, he would definitely reward them and let them work hard.
At the same time, he told the big tree behind him to keep up with his wood and nails, and resolutely not let the materials department drag down the construction workshop.
Next, the two went to the waterproof workshop and found that most of the people working here were women. Luo Chong nodded secretly and walked closer to check it carefully.
The waterproofing of sailboats mainly involves plugging the gaps in the planks with hemp ropes, and then smoothing all the gaps with a special mixed filler. This job is not difficult, but it requires meticulousness and a lot of work. Think about it, a large ship that is dozens of meters long, how many wooden boards are needed, and how many gaps there are.
So it would be best to mobilize some idle women at home to do this job. No wonder the production efficiency of the shipyard is so high.
Finally, Luo Chong and Dashu went to the next workshop and found that the workshop that was supposed to be used for painting was empty. After asking again, they found out that the other two three-masted sailboats had been launched. One of them had been outfitted and was being used as a training ship to train sailors, and the other was still being outfitted, with sails, anchors, ropes, pulleys and other items on board.
Luo Chong personally boarded the ship at the dock to inspect it. He was satisfied with the warship that looked exactly like his blueprint. The displacement was nearly 600 tons, and the maximum load was over 450 tons. Although it was a dregs compared to the iron ships in his previous life, Luo Chong was also very satisfied with it. He already had a 40-meter-long three-masted ship, so how far was it from an 80-meter one?
Just when Dashu wanted to invite Luo Chong back for lunch, the training ship that had gone out also returned to the dock. Luo Chong immediately rejected Dashu's proposal and decided to dine on the ship with the sailors to experience life on the ship.
(End of this chapter)
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