Chapter 351 Technology is the primary productive force!
After quietly admiring the majestic appearance of the three red cannons for a while, Ye Mingsheng turned to Huang Hao beside him and said;
"let's start!"

"Yes! Sir!" Huang Hao saluted respectfully, then called upon the other craftsmen and the gunners to start working.

After tinkering with it for about a cup of tea, Huang Hao and two other gunners began to light the fuse with torches, and soon the three red cannons issued their deafening roars!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Then the forest a mile away was hit. More than ten big trees were blown to pieces, and the dust was flying everywhere!
Seeing this effect, Ye Mingsheng was quite satisfied, and then asked Huang Hao:

"Is this a solid bullet? Try changing it to a shotgun!"

After getting Ye Mingsheng's warning, Huang Hao and several other craftsmen immediately adjusted the muzzles and changed the directions, aiming the three red cannons at some scarecrows a mile ahead. These scarecrows were just made by the soldiers to test the power of the red cannon's shotgun shells...
Although Ye Mingsheng's craftsman camp has now produced the red cannon, the current red cannon is only the initial stage of the red cannon. The weight of the cannon is only about a thousand pounds, and the range is about one mile, which is far from the maximum range of 2,500 meters during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty. As for the power, there are three types of red cannon shells.

The first type is solid bullets used in sieges and tough battles.

The second type is a shotgun shell used to kill people.

The third type is the shrapnel bomb, which is both effective in attacking cities and causing casualties.

Soon Huang Hao and the others completed the debugging and ignited the red cannon again. Three roars sounded again, and in the roars, none of the one hundred scarecrows that had just been made were spared. They were all blown to pieces, without any distinction between you and me...

After testing the power of solid bullets and shotgun shells, Ye Mingsheng tested the power of shrapnel shells. After watching the live-fire shooting of these three types of shells with his own eyes, Ye Mingsheng, who was in a good mood, praised Huang Hao and other craftsmen:

"Your craftsmen camp has done a great job. Very good. Thank you for your hard work!"

Hearing the high and mighty general's praise for them and others, they were all somewhat moved and spoke up one after another:
"It is our honor to be able to contribute a little to the Fengzhou Army and to you, my Lord!"

"Yes! If you treat us with sincerity, we are willing to die for you!"

"Although we can't go to the battlefield, we still want to contribute to your suppression of the rebellion!"

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When saying these words, these simple craftsmen looked very sincere and honest. Every word they said now came from the bottom of their hearts, making them truly speak from the bottom of their hearts.

In this feudal society, the social status of these craftsmen was not high, and the skills they mastered were even discriminated against as strange and tricky skills. In addition, the money they earned was only enough to support their families.

Although they initially came here only because they were attracted by the high salary offered by Ye Mingsheng, since arriving in Fengzhou, they have been deeply attracted to this land and the system established by Ye Mingsheng.

Ye Mingsheng, who is well aware that science and technology are the primary productive forces, attaches great importance to these skilled craftsmen. While using their technological achievements to enhance his own strength, he also gives the craftsmen generous labor remuneration, greatly improving their living standards and allowing them to have significant improvements in food, clothing, housing and transportation. They now live in large courtyards and can eat meat every day.

At the same time, after satisfying the material needs of the craftsmen, Ye Mingsheng did not forget their spiritual needs. Since he took charge of Fengzhou and had his own fixed territory, Ye Mingsheng has been trying to change the social atmosphere with all his strength, so that more people can realize the importance of technology and science...

This will improve the social status of craftsmen and enhance their sense of satisfaction and gain, and through this material and spiritual approach, continue to attract high-level craftsmen to live and work in Fengzhou.

Thanks to Ye Mingsheng's unremitting efforts, Fengzhou has now become a well-known "holy land of craftsmen" in Liaoyang and even in the entire northern part of the Great Zhou. Ye Mingsheng himself has also enjoyed a very high status in the hearts of the craftsmen, and everyone is very grateful for his kindness.

Now, there are dozens of craftsmen coming from all over the country every month, and the number is continuing to increase.

It is precisely because of the increase in the number of craftsmen that they were able to work together to overcome several technical difficulties and develop the Red Cannon from scratch in such a short period of time.

After having a cordial conversation with these craftsmen and fully demonstrating his amiable and enthusiastic friendliness to them, Ye Mingsheng asked Huang Hao, the project manager of the Red Cannon project, another question that he was very interested in.

"How long will it take to mass produce this red cannon? How much silver will it cost?"

Hearing Ye Mingsheng's question, Huang Hao thought for a moment and replied:

"Your Excellency, it took us more than a hundred people about half a year to build the first cannon, and then we spent more than two months to improve the problems that occurred. As for the second and third cannons, we spent about two months more. The cost of each cannon is about five thousand taels of silver."

Ye Mingsheng frowned slightly when he heard this. Although he had expected that the red cannon would be very expensive, the price of five thousand taels of silver per cannon still surprised Ye Mingsheng. Five thousand taels of silver was enough for him to pay one thousand soldiers a year's salary.

Although the cost is high, this is not Ye Mingsheng's biggest concern. After all, with the accumulation of Zhen Sanshan, the financial situation of Fengzhou Army has improved significantly. There is no need to tighten one's belt anymore, and Ye Mingsheng can also afford some expensive weapons.

What really worries Ye Mingsheng is that two months seems a bit too long for the current situation in Liaoyang. If what Huang Hao said is true, it seems that he only has these three red cannons to use recently...

After thinking for a while, Ye Mingsheng asked again:

"If I put in more manpower, can I shorten the time it takes to build the Red Cannon?"

Facing Ye Mingsheng's question, Huang Hao hesitated for a moment, nodded and said:
"It should be possible. If everyone works in three shifts day and night, it should be completed in a month!"

After hearing Huang Hao's answer, Ye Mingsheng's frown gradually relaxed. Compared with the ever-changing situation he was familiar with, a month was still a bit long, but it was still barely acceptable! As for the Red Cannon, which could be called a strategic weapon in this era, the more the better.

As the primary strategy that has been determined, these three red cannons must be taken to attack Shoucheng first, and Xinfa County also needs red cannons to guard against possible attacks by the Khitans at any time and ensure the safety of Fengzhou, the old nest...

Only when his old nest is safe can Ye Mingsheng concentrate on expanding his territory. Now many families of Fengzhou soldiers are in Fengzhou. If Fengzhou is in danger, the morale of the army will be unstable, and if the morale of the army is unstable, Ye Mingsheng's plan will be difficult to carry out.

Therefore, if he loses his foundation in Fengzhou, Ye Mingsheng will be like a rootless duckweed and will be in great danger. Therefore, Ye Mingsheng also attaches great importance to the safety of Fengzhou.

After thinking for a while, Ye Mingsheng asked Huang Hao:

"Logistics materials are available. I will assign 300 craftsmen to you. How many red cannons can you hand over to me in one month?"

Hearing that Ye Mingsheng had allocated so many manpower and resources to him, Huang Hao felt excited but also under great pressure. He did not dare to give Ye Mingsheng an answer easily. After thinking carefully for a while, he said very cautiously:
"Ten gates!"

"Okay, you have to ensure the quality for me!" Ye Mingsheng thought for a moment and nodded.
Ye Mingsheng had originally expected Huang Hao to give him a surprise, but the number of ten subjects was also a good result. Ye Mingsheng wanted to put pressure on Huang Hao so that he would work harder, but he didn't want to put too much pressure on him.

After all, manufacturing is not subject to human will, it has its limits. If the goal is too high and cannot be achieved, the result will be sacrificing quality in order to achieve the goal, which will not be worth the loss. Ye Mingsheng doesn't want to see that. He spent a lot of effort to pull the cannon to the front line, but it broke after just a few shots...
Seeing that Ye Mingsheng was concerned about the quality of the artillery, Huang Hao was very confident. He patted his chest and assured Ye Mingsheng:

"Please rest assured, sir, as long as you don't overuse it, if something goes wrong within a hundred rounds, sir, you'll have my head!"

After receiving this promise, Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly and instructed:

"Tell everyone that you will work hard this time. After the battle, I will definitely reward you!"

As soon as Ye Mingsheng finished speaking, Huang Hao's eyes burst into an expression of surprise that was difficult to conceal. He quickly bowed to Ye Mingsheng and thanked him:

"Your Excellency has been very kind to us craftsmen. We will do our best to serve you!"

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After inspecting the power of the red cannon, Ye Mingsheng took the cannon and the gunner back with him. In the past few days, the envoy Cao Guang sent by the Zhenwu Army asked to see him every day. It seemed that the situation of the Zhenwu Army in Changqing Prefecture was getting worse.

The intelligence reported to Ye Mingsheng by the Coordination Office was roughly the same. The intelligence showed that there were about 70,000 Liaoyang troops and 10,000 Shiwei people who were attacking Changqing Prefecture regardless of casualties.

After several days of siege, both sides suffered heavy losses. Although the exact casualty figures of both sides are unknown, based on the summarized intelligence and his own experience in leading troops in battle, Ye Mingsheng guessed that the Liaoyang army should have suffered 10,000 casualties from the fierce siege in the past few days.

As for the Zhenwu Army, although the casualties on the defending side were relatively less, they were definitely not much less. Ye Mingsheng estimated that the Zhenwu Army in Changqing Prefecture should be less than 20,000 people now...
If this continues, Changqing Prefecture will not be able to hold on in seven days to half a month!
So now is the time for Ye Mingsheng to take action. Ye Mingsheng has decided to attack Shoucheng in three days, striving to capture Shoucheng in the shortest time possible and then attack Dongning!
After inspecting the camp in the north of the city, checking the soldiers' combat readiness, and finally delivering a public speech to boost morale, Ye Mingsheng returned to his general's residence.

But just when he walked a hundred steps to the door, Ye Mingsheng saw a well-dressed man in military uniform, kneeling with his head lowered at the door of his general's mansion.

Seeing this man appear, Ye Mingsheng frowned, thinking that the military officer under his command had been wronged and came to him to appeal, so he immediately asked the guards on his left and right:

"Do you know who this person is?"

Hearing Ye Mingsheng's question, everyone looked at each other and shook their heads in confusion. Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng didn't think much and took the lead and walked over.

Since taking over Fengzhou, Ye Mingsheng has encountered petitions before, but this is the first time he has encountered a petition from the military.

As a local vassal of the Great Zhou and a small warlord with only tens of thousands of troops, Ye Mingsheng was very clear that the gun was the cornerstone of his regime. The stability of the gun was related to his political life, so he attached great importance to military affairs.

Facing this situation, Ye Mingsheng felt it necessary to find out why a general would risk ruining his future and being banned from the army to appeal to him...

When he came to the man on horseback, Ye Mingsheng felt that the man looked unfamiliar and he must have never seen him before.

But he didn't care too much. After all, the Fengzhou Army had expanded too fast during this period, and he promoted many people. He had seen some of these people, but he hadn't seen most of them. So Ye Mingsheng didn't think much about it and asked:
"Who are you? Are you the commander of that battalion?"

This general seemed to have been kneeling here for a while. He was a little exhausted. He did not respond when Ye Mingsheng rode up to him. When he heard Ye Mingsheng speak, he slowly turned his head to look at Ye Mingsheng and spoke with all his strength:
“I’m Cao Guang, a subordinate of Wang Muzhi, the assistant commander of the Zhenwu Army. I’ve come to ask General Ye to send troops to help us out of consideration for our comrades-in-arms…”

After hearing what this person said, Ye Mingsheng suddenly realized what was going on. He looked Cao Guang up and down and said with a smile:

"In ancient times, Shen Baoxu wept in the Qin court. Now, you, General Cao, weep in my general's mansion! It seems that the rumors that Lord Wang Mu loves his soldiers like his own sons and is well-loved are true!"

Cao Guang, whose physical and mental endurance had reached its limit, did not react to Ye Mingsheng's words at all. He just stared at Ye Mingsheng blankly. Seeing him like this, Ye Mingsheng smiled and instructed the people around him:

"Bring him into the house and give him something to eat and drink! I want to see him later!"

(End of this chapter)