Rise From the Humble

  Chapter 1599 When the cotton armor is in progress

After Zhu Pingan got the approval document for recruiting soldiers from Zhang Jing, he returned to the office of the procuratorate and procuratorate, bid farewell to Zhang Nietai and others, and then rushed to the Taohuaji school ground without stopping, and sent Baozi's little maid Hua'er and the demon girl Ruonan to Taohua Market town residence.

  Hua'er and Yao Nv Ruo Nan wanted to follow to recruit soldiers, but Zhu Ping'an refused without hesitation.

   "Uncle, Miss asked me to take care of your daily life"

   Baozi's little maid Hua'er was pitiful, wronged and aggressive, but failed to change Zhu Pingan's mind.

   "Hmph, don't take us with you, because we are afraid that we will disturb someone looking for flowers and asking Liu, eating and drinking people's fat and people's cream.

  Yao Nv Ruo Nan's yin and yang, cynicism and sarcastic offensive also failed to change Zhu Ping'an's mind.

  This is recruiting soldiers, not outing, why are you following? Zhu Pingan firmly rejected them.

   I haven’t returned to the barracks for several days. Zhu Ping’an will go back to the Zhe Army barracks to arrange work first, and then go to Yiwu to recruit soldiers.

  First of all, the first thing is the cotton armor. It is about to enter the period of many wars to suppress the Japanese. The cotton armor is an important part of Zhu Ping'an's plan. Qi Jiguang once said that good armor can save lives and defeat the enemy. The reason why the Eight Banners soldiers of the Qing Dynasty were invincible in East Asia was not only the high combat effectiveness of the Eight Banners, but also the Manqing cotton armor.

Zhu Pingan called Liu Dadao and others, and briefly talked about the situation of going to the heaven to receive the decree. When they learned that Zhu Ping'an was promoted to Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces and served as deputy envoy of the Procuratorate, everyone was very excited and asked Zhu Ping'an again and again. congratulate. A rising tide raises all boats, Zhu Ping'an has risen, and they have many benefits of invisibility.

  Zhu Ping'an smiled and waved his hands, and then asked Liu Dadao about the purchase of cotton.

   "Sir, I bought all the one hundred taels of silver you gave me into cotton. Now that winter is over, the price of cotton has risen a bit. It is 50 renminbi a catty of cotton. I bought a total of two thousand catties of cotton." Liu Dadaohui reported.

   "Dao, you did a good job." Zhu Pingan nodded in satisfaction and praised.

  The unit price of cotton is more expensive than expected. Of course, Zhu Pingan also made an empirical mistake.

  Zhu Ping’an subconsciously compares prices against modern times. Modern cotton has a high output, a large planting area, and a high degree of mechanization, so the price is cheaper. The price of modern cotton is about five or six yuan per catty.

  Forget that it is Daming now.

  The cotton planting area, cotton production, etc. in the Ming Dynasty cannot be compared with modern times at all, and it is reasonable that the price is expensive.

  Speaking of it, I have to thank Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu Yuanzhang was the first person to popularize cotton in my country. Cotton was first planted in China during the Song and Yuan Dynasties. Before the Ming Dynasty, cotton was mostly used as an ornamental plant—flower. In the early Ming Dynasty, Emperor Hongwu Zhu Yuanzhang had a keen eye for cotton and discovered the huge economic value of cotton as an ornamental plant. The national promotion has enabled cotton to be planted on a large scale across the country. Of course, due to historical limitations, it cannot be compared with modern times.

  In short, the output of cotton during this period was not low (although it cannot be compared with modern times), and the price was not too expensive, and ordinary people could afford it. The average family could have a cotton coat to keep out the cold in winter.

   "You take the seven hundred taels of silver and continue to buy cotton. If there is not enough nearby, you can go to a village and town farther away to buy it."

  Zhu Pingan took out another seven hundred taels of silver from his pocket, handed it to Liu Dadao, and told him to continue purchasing cotton.

   "I still need to buy cotton." Liu Dadao was stunned for a moment.

"That's right, keep buying, the more the better." Zhu Pingan patted Liu Dadao on the shoulder, said with a smile, and then instructed, "Dao, while purchasing cotton, let people go to the town to find craftsmen who can play cotton. Popped all the cotton."

   "Follow my son, and promise to complete the task." Liu Dadao patted his chest and promised.

Zhu Pingan asked Liu Mu about the blacksmiths and how the iron pieces were made. Liu Mu replied that ten blacksmiths had been invited from nearby villages and towns, and they had already begun to smelt broken armor to make iron pieces for armoring. Show the film to Zhu Ping'an.

  Zhu Pingan looked at the iron sheet in his hand, and nodded in satisfaction. These iron sheets were made according to his own instructions. The iron sheet was about seven centimeters, and holes were reserved for fixing with copper nails later.

"Okay, that's it, make as many as you can. Oh, yes, let them make a batch of molds first, that is, the body armor mold, the front rail mold, the armor sleeve mold, the shoulder mold, the left rail mold, etc. These molds I have drawn the sketches, and the specific dimensions are marked on it. Note that these sketches are top secret and must not be passed on. When ordering blacksmiths to make molds, they must also pay attention. Each blacksmith can only make one kind of mold. At the same time, let them Sign a non-disclosure agreement, all molds are military secrets and must not be passed on to outsiders, and violators will be severely punished for leaking military secrets. Let’s make 50 of each mold for the time being.”

  Zhu Pingan took out the sketch from his arms, handed it to Liu Mu, and explained to him.

   "Don't worry, my lord." Liu Mu took the sketch, put it in his arms like a treasure, and nodded vigorously.

"After the mold is made, people put the cotton that has been stretched into the mold after absorbing enough water, beat it repeatedly, and beat it into thin cotton pieces, take them out to dry, and after drying, soak the cotton pieces again. Put it into the mold, beat it again and again into thin slices, dry it again, beat it again, repeat this four times, take it out and dry it, it will be a formed cotton sheet, and you can make as much as you can." Zhu Pingan then explained to Liu Mu.

   Repeated beating and drying can make the cotton fiber tissue dense and thick, so as to resist the attack of cold and hot weapons, and it can also be waterproof.

  Zhu Pingan estimated the time it would take to dry and beat repeatedly, and estimated that the cotton sheet would be ready to be formed when he returned from recruiting soldiers.

  Therefore, Zhu Pingan said to Liu Mu and Liu Dadao, "You do this for now, and the rest will be done after I come back."

   "Waiting for the young master to come back? Young master, are you going out on business?" Liu Dadao asked hastily, his eyes lit up.

   "Yes, I'm going to Yiwu to recruit soldiers." Zhu Ping'an nodded and explained briefly to them, "Governor Zhang Jingzhang gave us the approval document of 1,200 soldiers in the Zhejiang Army, allowing us to recruit soldiers by ourselves."

   "Recruitment? Young Master, I'll go with you. The Japanese pirates are not stopping recently. I will accompany you to protect you. I guarantee that you will never lose a single hair." Liu Dadao volunteered.

   "You still need to buy cotton." Zhu Pingan shook his head slightly, "Cotton is the focus of making cotton armor, and the task is heavy."

   "Young master, I took our battalion to purchase cotton a few days ago, and they are all competent. Hehe, just take me there."

   Liu Dadao smiled flatteringly.

"My lord, you should just take your big knife. He has well-developed limbs and a simple mind, and he can't even calculate the accounts. The cotton he purchased a few days ago was mainly done by people from their camp. Compared with purchasing cotton, he is more suitable for escorting you, Young Master. "

  Liu Mu also helped to speak.

  Zhu Ping'an went to Yiwu to recruit soldiers, and without Liu Dadao and others accompanying him, Liu Mu was also worried.

   "Okay then." Zhu Pingan nodded and said to Liu Dadao, "Go back and explain to the people in your battalion."

   "Don't worry, my lord." Liu Dadao smiled and nodded again and again.

  Zhu Ping'an explained to the battalion commanders again, and ordered them to practice strictly. After he came back, he would take a test. If any battalion had a bad hip, he would ask their battalion commander.

  (end of this chapter)