After hearing Kou Ji's question, the craftsmen quickly took the drawings and handed them to Kou Ji.
"This is a drawing sent by someone from Baozhou. The problem is already indicated on it."
Kou Ji took a look, and the corners of his mouth twitched and said, "Who told them to put armor on horses? They wear heavy armor? Are there any holes in their brains?"
The craftsmen hesitated: "It was said by the old soldier sent by the Li Mansion. It said that he encountered a kind of soldier in the Xixia battlefield who was very fierce.
So I want to try..."
Kou Ji was slightly taken aback when he heard this.
The old pawn of the Li Mansion who wears battle armor with men and horses is 80% of the iron harrier, or the predecessor of the iron harrier.
They did not shine when they conquered Xixia in the Great Song Dynasty, which means that they are still under construction and have not formed a certain scale.
However, in the process of the establishment of the Iron Harrier, the veteran of the Li Mansion can see that the iron harrier is powerful, which is enough to show that the vision of the Li Mansion is not weak.
Kou Ji took the blueprint and said earnestly: "That is a heavy armored rider, and it has very good requirements for horses. A good horse that is not the first class is definitely not up to the level required for heavy armored riders.
Although the horses I brought back from Liao were all excellent horses, they were far from the standard required for heavy armored riding.
Out of five thousand good horses, fifty good horses can reach the standard required for heavy armor riding, which is already very good.
Therefore, mass armoring of horses is not advisable so far.
Moreover, those horses are still reproducing. Before the number of horses reaches a certain standard, letting them grind under heavy armor is killing them.
We are different from Xixia. There are thousands of good horses in Xixia every year, and the 5,000 good horses in our hands can breed three or four good horses each year, which is already very good. .
Therefore, it is not advisable to coat the horse.
At least not for now. "
The craftsmen nodded thoughtfully when he heard Kou Ji's words.
Kou Ji continued: "We are short of horses, and even more excellent cavalry. When the horses are not in place, we must first equip the soldiers, so that they can become familiar with each other on horseback and become qualified cavalry .
As long as we have qualified cavalry, horses are not a problem.
At that time, whether it's scams, or buys from the vassal for a big price, it will be fine. "
The craftsmen stared at Kou Ji in a daze.
Kou Ji also froze for a moment, and then smiled bitterly: "Why am I telling you these things... I should write to Di Qing..."
Kou Ji smiled bitterly after saying these words, and instructed the craftsmen: "What you have to do now is to equip our soldiers. Help them build armor, boots, and weapons."
"Little people understand."
The craftsmen agreed.
"Help me prepare some stereotypes, as well as clay, iron ingots, silver, and prepare the stove. I have something to do..."
Kou Ji gave an order.
The craftsmen's eyes straightened in an instant, "Little master, you want to build something again, can the little people watch it from the sidelines."
Kou Ji shook his head and said, "The things forged this time are of great importance. You can't take a peek."
When the craftsmen heard this, they looked disappointed.
Kou Ji said again: "But after I finish forging things, I can teach you how to forge steel!"
"steel?"
The craftsmen were excited again for a moment.
The craftsman leader said excitedly: "Little Master, is the steel you mentioned the same material you forged last time?"
The steel mentioned by the artisan leader was the steel that Kou Ji secretly obtained when he made the barrel of the musket.
The craftsmen were very impressed with that kind of steel.
In order to make a qualified barrel, Kou Ji made a large number of iron pillars and let them be responsible for drilling the holes.
In the end, it was the old craftsman who could make ghost balls. He used a special ore to create a triangular drill to help Kou Ji drill out a qualified barrel.
Kou Ji nodded slowly when he saw the craftsmen look eager: "It's the kind of material..."
The craftsmen were so excited that they couldn't speak.
The craftsman leader greeted a large group of apprentices quickly to help Kou Ji prepare the things he wanted to use.
After Kou Ji got the things, he went into the workshop and started making them.
During the period, Kou Ji had a lot of paint and ink ingots into the room for him to use.
Kou Ji stayed in the workshop for three days before he produced a version of the Jiaozi printing template he was satisfied with.
At the same time, a kind of colorful ink that others can't imitate was also produced.
Kou Ji took a pile of printed Jiaozi and went out of the workshop, looking for a comment from the craftsmen in the workshop.
As soon as he left the house, a craftsman in his mid-fifties caught his attention.
The craftsman squatted on the ground wearing a coarse linen, staring in a daze at the pile of mastic that Kou Ji threw from the workshop.
Kou Ji leaned forward and asked, "Is there a problem with the clay stamp I made?"
The craftsman raised his head, glanced at it, saw Kou Ji, got up quickly, and said: "I have seen the young master..."
Kou Ji nodded.
The craftsman hesitated: "If you go back to the young master, the villain just feels that the way you use the glue to make a seal is in line with some of the methods in the villain's heart. That's why I can't help but stop watching, wanting to get some enlightenment from it."
Kou Ji was taken aback, and asked, "What do you want to do with clay stamping?"
The craftsman groaned: "The villain thought about whether it is possible to print with clay instead of the original engraving."
Kou Ji opened his mouth and hurriedly asked: "What's your name?"
The craftsman was stunned, then bowed and said: "Little man Bi Sheng..."
(Bi Sheng, born around 970 AD, invented movable type printing during the Qingli years (1041~1048)...)
Kou Ji smiled.
The smile is very bright.
Bi Sheng looked suspicious, wondering why Kou Ji laughed when he heard his name.
Kou Ji smiled and asked: "Are you from Qizhou Qishui?"
Bi Sheng nodded weirdly, "The villain is from Qizhou and Qishui..."
After a pause, Bi Sheng stared at Kou Ji and asked, "Young Master has investigated the villain?"
Kou Ji shook his head decisively and smiled: "No..."
Without waiting for Bi Sheng to continue to ask questions, Kou Ji said again: "Kou Zhong saw me running to the workshop many times before, so he told me your identity and background. Your name is very special, so I remembered it. "
Bi Sheng was not suspicious, nodded slowly.
He hesitated and asked Kou Ji: "Young master, can the villain take away these clay prints?"
Kou Ji nodded and smiled: "Of course... But I want to remind you. The glue that I use is printed with two characters or three characters, and it has not been fired, and cannot be used for long-term printing. "
Bi Sheng froze stiffly in place, as if he had been hit by a holding spell.
Kou Ji's words, like a thread, got into his mind, connecting many messy thoughts in his mind together, forming a complete thought chain.
Kou Ji stared at Bi Sheng as if he had been hit by the Rooting Curse, and smiled knowingly.
Judging from Bi Sheng's actions just now, Bi Sheng has not yet invented movable type printing. Movable type printing seems to be just a rudiment in Bi Sheng's mind. Without his reminder, Bi Sheng estimated that it would take a long time to figure out the tricks of movable type printing.
His words today may make movable type printing soon appear in front of the world.
He did not disturb Bi Sheng, but bypassed Bi Sheng and went to find other craftsmen.
Kou Ji found other craftsmen and told them not to disturb Bi Sheng who was enlightened.
Then hand them the printed Jiaozi.
"You can help me to see and see how many hidden marks for distinguishing authenticity in the Jiaozi I printed. Whoever finds the most will be rewarded."
The craftsmen snatched the Jiao Zi in Kou Ji's hands and watched them separately.
They each looked at one, carefully looking for the hidden mark inside.
As for the reward mentioned by Kou Ji, they didn't care at all.
They are all the top craftsmen in the world, and there are countless people who ask them to build things, or ask them to accept apprentices to teach skills.
There are even many people who spend a lot of money behind their backs, wanting to buy their skills from them.
They ignored this, which shows that they don't care about money.
They are more interested in craftsmanship and skills.
"I found three places..."
"No, no, there are six places..."
"What six places, there are clearly twelve..."
"..."
"No, what you said is wrong, there are twenty-one places! Twenty-one places!"
"The young master is really superb. I found 28 hidden marks in it."
"How can it be?"
"..."
A group of craftsmen took Jiaozi and approached Kou Ji, wanting Kou Ji to give a final answer.
Kou Ji smiled indifferently: "There are totally... thirty-six places!"
"impossible!"
The craftsmen spoke one after another, feeling a little excited.
Kou Ji took Jiaozi and explained to them the hidden marks on Jiaozi one by one.
But Kou Ji only talked about 30 places, and didn't talk much about the remaining six places.
The six places he left behind were hidden hands, in order to prevent changes in Jiaozipu in the future, so that he could restrain others.
When the craftsmen saw that Kou Ji had talked about 30 points, they refused to talk more. They were tickled, but no one was climbing Kou Ji and asked Kou Ji to continue speaking.
They all understand the rules of keeping one hand when doing things, and they often use them.
So they won't bother Kou Ji to ask questions, because they know the rules.
With doubts, the craftsmen began to ask Kou Ji how to forge steel.
Kou Ji took them to the wrought iron workshop and explained to them in detail with the help of some tools in the wrought iron workshop.
They are all skillful craftsmen, many things do not need to be elaborated by Kou Ji, they can draw inferences from one another.
Kou Ji talked about the process once, and they had all written down.
There is no need for Kou Ji to cover up, the craftsmen are already ready to try it out.
Before the craftsmen dispersed, Kou Ji found the craftsman leader and ordered him to take care of Bi Sheng. At the same time, he asked the craftsman leader to prepare something for Bi Sheng to study movable type printing.
As for the separate workshop, Kou Jidao did not order.
Bi Sheng is not only good at printing, he also has a lot of craftsmanship in his hands. He is also a master craftsman in Kou's Mansion. He has his own separate workshop and does not require special arrangements.
After Kou Ji ordered the artisan leader, he left the artisan workshop.
After returning to Sijunyuan, I saw Xiang Yan drifting past him like a gust of wind.
He deliberately dragged Xiang Yanpan to talk for a word or two, but he didn't stop when he saw Xiang Yan roaring out.
These three days, not only Kou Ji was busy.
Xiang Yan is more busy.
After seeing the bottomless treasury of Kou Mansion, Xiang Yan was completely confused.
In order to count the piles of money inside, she was busy in the treasury day and night.
Xiang Yan led Kou Zhong, the accountant of the Kou Mansion, and hundreds of Mr. accountants, and counted the money of the Kou Mansion together. It took three days to count the money and it was less than one-tenth of the money in the storeroom.
There are still nine out of ten, not counted.
After Kou Ji returned to the room, he moved his tired muscles and bones, washed a lot, and lay down and slept.
It wasn't until late at night that he slowly regained consciousness.
Kou Ji touched his side in a dazed manner, opened his eyes, and saw Xiang Yan'er lying on the table in the room, lighting a candle, holding a pen, and calculating accounts.
Kou Ji slowly got up, feeling a little cold, and put on another coat.
He picked up a cloak and walked to Xiang Yan's side, put it on her, then hugged him from behind, and whispered, "It's so late, still busy?"
Xiang Yan put down the pen, rubbed the pantothenic wrist, snuggled in Kou Ji's arms, and laughed in a low voice: "There is too much money in the house, so I'm not busy, I can't count it."
Kou Ji said calmly: "Just leave it to Kou Zhong to take care of it?"
Xiang Yan raised her head and said unhappily, "How can we do it? Kou Zhong's loyalty, concubine body does not doubt. But the other people below are hard to say. If they take the opportunity to be greedy for ink while carrying money, who can? know.
If things go on like this, Kou Mansion still has to be evacuated by them
The concubine's purpose is to check the property in the mansion as soon as possible, and then reconcile the account with the accountant, check the accounts in the accountant, and see if there is any discrepancy with the money in the treasury, and how big the difference is.
Then check again to see if anyone is greedy for money from the house. "
Kou Ji shook his head dumbly.
Seeing this, Xiang Yan said dissatisfied: "Why are you shaking your head? What the concubine tells you is business."
Kou Ji smiled and said, "It's nothing... You say, I'm listening."
Xiang Yan nestled in Kou Ji's arms again, and said: "When I was checking the treasury, I found that a lot of money in the treasury was moldy, and a layer of green hair grew on it.
Those silver bumps are about to rust into stone bumps.
We have to find a way to spend this money...
It's best to use them to buy pavement, land...
Some calligraphy and paintings on the house also show signs of dampness and need to be dealt with...
And among the copper coins in the house, many coins are of different sizes and weights, so the value is naturally different...
Concubine thought about..."
Xiang Yanxu babbled, said a lot of things, and said that Kou Ji was asleep.
In the end, Kou Ji woke up faintly amid Xiang Yan's dissatisfaction.
Seeing Xiang Yan pouting and complaining.
Kou Ji hurriedly said: "Just do what you said..."
Xiang Yan grinned immediately.
"You go to bed first, and your concubine will be busy for a while..."
Kou Ji nodded helplessly and walked to the bed.
When Xiang Yan saw Kou Ji climb into bed alone, she felt a little sorry.
She hesitated for a while, and whispered: "If you feel that the bed is not warm enough, your concubine asks Chun'er to come in and help you warm up."
Kou Ji withdrew in the bed and said faintly: "No need..."
"Are you shy?"
"No… "
"Then why don't you let Chun'er warm you up..."
"Not used to..."
"Chun'er is the concubine's dowry girl and the person in your room. She will definitely warm your bed in the future..."
"..."
Kou Ji clutched the quilt and left a sentence of'I'm asleep', and stopped talking to Xiang Yan.
He was afraid that he would continue to talk to Xiang Yan, and Xiang Yan would squeeze Chun'er into his bed.