Zhu Ping'an never liked to procrastinate. After making up his mind, he called Liu Dadao, handed him 100 taels of silver, and said, "Dadao, take the people in your camp to the nearby villages and towns to collect cotton in the next two days. The more the better. I can use it."
Liu Dadao is in good health and has healed all the injuries he suffered while suppressing the Japanese pirates in Shangyu.
He was born a hunter, he crossed mountains and forests, chased deer and hunted pigs, he was a man of the wind, he yearned for freedom. He was very uncomfortable with the long-term closed military camp life, and when he heard Zhu Ping'an told him to go out for work, he was so happy that his back teeth were exposed.
"Sir, why do we buy so much cotton? Although the weather is very cold now, everyone in our camp has a quilt, so we are not short of quilts." Before leaving, Liu Dadao scratched his head and asked in confusion.
"Have you heard of cotton armor? I want to make cotton armor, so that every soldier in Zhejiang Province will have a pair." Zhu Ping'an explained simply.
"Sir, can cotton be used to make armor?!" Upon hearing this, Liu Dadao opened his mouth in shock. He could not believe his ears. It was as if he had heard an old sow climbing a tree. No matter how he thought about it, it seemed unreliable.
There is no doubt that cotton can keep out the cold, but to say that cotton can be used to make nails is ridiculous. Cotton is soft and fluffy, and it will dent a lot when pressed by hand, so how can it be used to make nails
"Of course you can. About six or seven pounds of cotton can make a pair of cotton armor." Zhu Ping'an recalled the method of making cotton armor that he had seen in modern books. He nodded seriously and said seriously.
Six or seven pounds of cotton to make a set of cotton armor?!
"Well, sir, six or seven pounds of cotton should be enough to make a single quilt."
Liu Dadao muttered, and a picture emerged in his mind: two armies facing each other, and the soldiers of the Zhejiang Army were wrapped in thick quilts and went into battle to kill the enemy. The enemy on the opposite side was stunned and laughed like crazy...
The scene was so beautiful that I couldn't even imagine it... Liu Dadao couldn't help but subconsciously shook his head and was about to cover his face.
When Zhu Ping'an saw Liu Dadao's expression, he knew that he had imagined the cotton armor to be a thick quilt. He couldn't help but smile bitterly and said, "The cotton armor is not a quilt, but a style of armor. You will know when you buy cotton. In addition, when we were defending Jingnan against the Japanese pirates, didn't we find a batch of cloth breastplates in the warehouse? The cotton armor is an upgraded and enhanced version of the cloth breastplate."
"Oh, that's the cloth breastplate, sir. That kind of cloth breastplate is just for show. It's useless and far inferior to iron armor in defense. That's why it's piled up in the warehouse and covered with dust. In my opinion, it's better for you to spend money to make a few sets of iron armor than to make this cotton armor."
After being reminded by Zhu Ping'an, Liu Dadao suddenly remembered and shook his head, admonishing Zhu Ping'an.
"Haha, Dadao, the cotton armor I want to make is different from the cloth breastplate. I once saw the method of making this kind of cotton armor in an ancient book. After the cotton armor is made, it will not be heavy when it rains, will not be moldy and black, will not be damaged by bird guns, and its defense against swords and arrows is not much worse than iron armor. When the cotton armor is made, you will know. Don't worry, I know what I am doing. Just take people to harvest cotton."
Zhu Pingan smiled slightly and said confidently.
Made of cotton armor, it can withstand rain without getting heavy, won’t get moldy or rotten, can’t be damaged by bird guns, and its defense against swords and arrows is not much inferior to iron armor? !
Although Liu Dadao had doubts in his heart, he still believed in the young master, nodded vigorously, said "Yes, sir", and left.
After Liu Dadao left, Zhu Ping'an sent people to the nearby town to invite blacksmiths to the military camp, and he wanted to hire as many as possible.
Cotton armor is divided into two types: pure cotton armor and cotton-iron composite armor. Pure cotton armor, as the name suggests, is made purely of cotton. The protective power of pure cotton armor is slightly insufficient. Cotton-iron composite armor is further divided into two types: visible armor and hidden armor. Hidden armor is either nailed to the inner layer of cotton with iron sheets, or chain mail or chain mail iron mesh is sandwiched between the inner layer of cotton to increase the protective performance. Visible armor is based on cotton liner, and the iron sheets are connected to the cotton liner in the form of armor. Both visible armor and hidden armor have strong protective power, and have good protection against both firearms and cold weapons.
The cotton armor that Zhu Ping'an was going to make was a cotton-iron composite armor, or more precisely, a dark armor, which used the mature cotton armor manufacturing technology of the Qing Dynasty.
To make this kind of cotton armor, in addition to cotton, a large amount of iron sheet lining is also needed.
Therefore, a blacksmith's help is needed.
There was no blacksmith in the Zhejiang Army camp, so Zhu Ping'an sent someone to invite a blacksmith to help forge a large number of iron sheets.
Previously, a large number of broken armors were brought from the Linhuai Marquis Navy Camp and other places, and they can finally be put to use. Ask the blacksmith to melt these broken armors and forge them into pieces of iron, and then drill a hole in the iron sheet so that the iron sheet can be embedded in the inner layer of the cotton armor later, and then fixed with copper nails on the outside... ...
About a cup of tea later, the person sent to invite the blacksmith had not returned yet, and the guard at the gate came to report that someone from the Ministry of War had come outside the camp to inform them of an important matter.
"Please come in quickly." Zhu Ping'an asked someone to invite the people from the Ministry of War in.
At the same time, Zhu Ping'an also walked out of the camp, and soon he met someone from the Ministry of War who was led by the guards halfway.
"Are you Lord Niu, the head of the Chariot Department?" Zhu Ping'an smiled and bowed, recognizing the man.
"I, the humble servant Niu Xing, am paying my respects to Lord Zhu. I didn't expect that Lord Zhu would still remember my name after only meeting me once. I am so lucky. I am deeply ashamed to have you come from afar to welcome me..." Master Niu stepped forward to pay his respects with a look of pride on his face.
"Master Niu, you are too polite." Zhu Ping'an smiled and extended his hand to invite Master Niu to go to the general's tent with him.
After entering the general's tent, Zhu Pingan took the teapot and poured a cup of tea for Niu, then asked with a smile, "I wonder if Lord Niu has any advice for you since you have come all the way here this time."
"I dare not give you any advice. I am here on the orders of Minister Zhang to inform Lord Zhu that the angels from the capital will arrive in Yingtian soon. Lord Zhu, please make arrangements for the camp and then go to Yingtian immediately. We will be waiting for the angels to arrive at any time."
Niu Zhushi reported back.
"The angel has come, I wonder what it is about?" Zhu Ping'an asked.
"It's about rewards and punishments for the Japanese pirates in Shangyu. As for the specific rewards and punishments, I don't know. Only the arrival of the angel can reveal it." Niu replied, paused for a moment, and then continued, "In addition to Lord Zhu, all local officials who are in the path of the Japanese pirates in Shangyu, as well as the generals of the garrisons and barracks who are responsible for protecting the country and the people and destroying the Japanese pirates, and related responsible officials, must go to Yingtian to wait for the angel."
"So that's how it is. Thank you, Lord Niu, for telling me." Zhu Ping'an bowed to express his gratitude.
"Sir Zhu, you are too polite. I still have to report to the lower levels, so I will take my leave now. After Sir Zhu has arranged the affairs in the camp, please report to the Yingtian Military Department." Chief Niu took a sip of tea and said goodbye to Zhu Ping'an.
"Okay, since Chief Niu still has official business, I won't try to keep him here." Zhu Ping'an nodded and escorted Chief Niu out of the camp.