Jinzhou Craftsmanship Supervisor? This position is not low, and it is a lucrative one. He is also an important official in the state. I remember that the emperor asked me to choose between the two positions of Ganzhou Craftsmanship Supervisor and Qiyun Supervisor. But Yan Liqiang couldn't help but take a few more glances at Ou Tiexin, the Jinzhou Craftsmanship Supervisor who led a group of craftsmen to welcome him and Luo Yutian.
The supervisor of the Jinzhou Artisan Battalion was short and fat, with wrinkles all over his head, messy gray hair, and a layer of coal dust on his face. The most bizarre thing was that he was not wearing any official uniform or even any clothes, but only a leather apron that a blacksmith would wear when forging iron hung around his neck. The leather apron was pitch black and greasy, and the color could not be seen. It was similar to the one used by Yan Liqiang's father, Yan Dechang, in the blacksmith workshop.
If you put a man like this among a bunch of blacksmiths, who would dare to say that he was the supervisor of the Jinzhou smithy camp? With the clothes he wore, even if he ran out on the street, people might think he was a beggar.
After introducing himself, Ou Tiexin, the supervisor of Jinzhou's craftsmen camp, stared at Yan Liqiang with bright eyes and a look of concentration and curiosity.
The words "Great Craftsman of Heaven and Earth" of the Han Empire were a shock to any craftsman of the Han Empire. These four words "Great Craftsman of Heaven and Earth" represented the supreme authority and status in this circle and were the pinnacle of craftsmen.
Seeing Yan Liqiang paying more attention to Ou Tiexin, Luo Yutian smiled and explained, "Liqiang, don't be surprised. Tiexin usually dresses like this. I came here today and the imperial envoys did the same. This is not intentional neglect!"
Yan Liqiang laughed, "I understand. People who are too focused on their favorite fields generally don't care too much about the details of their clothes, nor do they care about other people's opinions. When I saw Lord Ou today, I knew that Lord Ou must have unique attainments in iron smelting and ironmaking. The so-called diligence makes perfect, just like Lord Ou!"
Hearing Yan Liqiang's words, Ou Tiexin's eyes moved.
"Hahaha, Li Qiang, you guessed it right. Tie Xin's attainments in iron smelting and ironmaking are really amazing. These days, there are some interesting things being tinkered with in this craftsman city. I'll take you to see them!"
"Hahaha, I couldn't ask for more!"
"Tie Xin, lead the way!"
"My two lords, please follow me!" Ou Tiexin finally withdrew his gaze from Yan Liqiang. He turned around and took Yan Liqiang, Luo Yutian and their attendants to the Craftsman City.
The most important reason why Jinzhou Artisan Camp was the best in the Han Empire was its scale!
Like the Huanglong County Artisan and Weaponry Camp where Yan Liqiang started his career, that camp only had a few hundred people and was under the jurisdiction of the Pingxi County Military Governor's Office. Strictly speaking, it was already a county-level artisan and weaponry camp, and the number of people was not small among the artisan and weaponry camps of the same level. There were many artisan and weaponry camps with more people than Huanglong County in the Han Empire, usually thousands or tens of thousands. Even the artisan and weaponry camps directly under the provincial military governor's office usually had only a few thousand or tens of thousands of people. But how many people were there in this Jinzhou Artisan and Weaponry Camp? More than 300,000. In the entire empire, there was no artisan and weaponry camp with a larger scale and more people than this one. The scale of this artisan and weaponry camp was really the best in the world.
In the Jinzhou Artisan Camp, anything that can be used in the army, from nails for horseshoes to soldiers' shoes, belts and armor, from ordinary swords to heavy equipment for sieges and crossbow carts such as the eight-ox crossbow, can be produced in this Jinzhou Artisan Camp. Almost more than 90% of the military supplies of the entire Jinzhou army come from the Jinzhou Artisan Camp.
Other craftsmen camps either set up their own territory or built their camps in the city. However, the craftsmen camp in Jinzhou was so large that it gradually became a city. The craftsmen in the craftsmen camp lived and worked in the city. The whole city was self-contained and was called the Craftsmen City. On weekdays, the Craftsmen City was like a military camp and was not open to outsiders. If there was no one leading the way, ordinary people could not enter the place. This was also the reason why Yan Liqiang saw so many tall chimneys in the city when he was outside the city, because the city itself was a super large factory.
As soon as the group entered the city, Yan Liqiang saw a man who looked like a worker driving two oxen and pulling a string of ox carts passing by him. The two oxen were not unusual, but the ox carts they were pulling were connected in sections, a bit like a train carriage, and the ox carts were carrying coal.
After walking a few steps, Yan Liqiang looked at an open leather workshop on the side of the road. A modified steam engine was running with a clattering sound, driving two iron rollers to press on the pieces of leather that had just been processed. Next to him was a craftsman in his thirties with a greasy face, shouting, "Try it first, try it first. I don't know how long this machine can last. The speed is too high. It needs to be adjusted slower, slower. It's better to set a hand guard where the leather is placed, so that you don't accidentally put your hand in and it will be crippled..."
In such an era, in the Han Empire, suddenly walking into a city with a slight industrial atmosphere, this feeling was really magical to Yan Liqiang, but this magical feeling was actually wonderful to Yan Liqiang, because among all people, Yan Liqiang knew best the tremendous power that industry and efficient production could bring.
Walking on the streets of the Craftsman City, apart from the various craftsmen working and the occasional teams of patrolling soldiers, there are almost no other people to be seen. On both sides of the street, there are either various workshops or various warehouses, or soldiers' camps. Between those workshops and warehouses, various ox carts and horse carriages are constantly coming and going, transporting all kinds of things.
After just walking in the craftsman camp for a while, Yan Liqiang saw more than one steam engine. From the styles of those steam engines, Yan Liqiang could tell at a glance that these steam engines were imitations, and the model they imitated was the steam engines produced by the manufacturing bureau under his own command. The steam engines produced by the Northwest Manufacturing Bureau had some unique structures, so Yan Liqiang could tell it at a glance.
"Sir Ou, does this craftsman city also produce water-fire machines?" Yan Liqiang asked.
"Yes, we do. The water lighters we produce here are imitations of the ones produced by your manufacturing bureau!" Ou Tiexin admitted it frankly, not at all embarrassed, with a gleam in his eyes. "Does your Excellency want to see our workshop where we produce water lighters?"
(End of this chapter)