xymnovel Chapter 73 Expanding the Scale
Chapter 73 Expanding the Scale
The abandoned drill ground of the former military garrison in the western suburbs of Jinan.
This place has been rented by Lu Yan and transformed into a new base for the "Jinan Volunteer Militia Training." On June 18th, the area outside the training ground was packed with people.
"Recruiting! The Army Regiment is recruiting!"
"I heard that if you're selected, you'll receive two taels of silver a month for settling down, and three meals a day, with meat at every meal!"
"He's a follower of Lu the Killer, I heard even Xu the Demonic Path is afraid of him!"
Thousands of refugees, beggars, and even deserted garrison soldiers surrounded the recruitment post. In those years of widespread famine, two taels of silver and a full meal were enough to make any man risk his life.
But getting a meal from the Lu family isn't so easy.
"Next!"
Behind the table in the recruitment office sat not ordinary clerks, but the "human resources department" personally trained by Lu Yan—several shrewd old accountants and several fierce-looking veterans.
A pale-faced man stepped forward, about to kneel down and kowtow.
"Stand up straight! No kneeling!"
The veteran shouted, "Take off your shirts! Spin around twice!"
The man trembled as he took off his tattered jacket. The old soldier stepped forward, patted his shoulders and arms, and then made him open his mouth to check his teeth.
"Too weak, has a lung condition, no thanks. Go get two steamed buns over there and leave."
"Sir! Please take me in! I can endure hardship! I can kill!" the man cried as he was dragged away.
This is the "physical examination standard" set by Lu Yan.
He didn't need those skinny cannon fodder. He was recruiting future professional soldiers, even the seeds of a "modern army." Physical fitness, obedience, and intelligence were all essential.
"Name?"
"Li Gou Dan".
"What did you do before?"
"Your Excellency, I am an assistant in the blacksmith's shop and I know how to swing a sledgehammer."
Upon hearing the word "blacksmith," the accountant behind the table's eyes lit up, and he circled it on the specially made form.
"Go to the shed on the right. Manager Zhao (Zhao Tie) will personally interview you. If your skills are up to par, you'll get a monthly salary of five taels, and your whole family can move into the safe zone."
"Five...five taels?!" Li Gou Dan's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
This is Lu Yan's "talent selection mechanism".
Ordinary soldiers were only a part of his recruitment; he valued skilled tradespeople even more. Blacksmiths, carpenters, veterinarians, doctors, and even literate people who could do accounting were all key targets in his search. In this era of extremely underdeveloped industry, every skilled trade was a valuable asset.
……
Deep within the training grounds, Zhao Tie's "arsenal" is undergoing a frenzied expansion.
The original small workshop could no longer meet the demand. With the huge sum of money he earned this time, Lu Yan bought more than a dozen houses in the surrounding area and combined them into a huge production workshop.
"Hurry! The drilling for these gun barrels must be completed tonight!"
Zhao Tie's voice was hoarse as he held a "diagram of the assembly line" drawn by Lu Yan in his hand.
Previously, gun manufacturing was done by a single craftsman from start to finish, which was inefficient and resulted in inconsistent quality. Now, Lu Yan has forcibly implemented the "segmented manufacturing method".
One group was responsible for rolling the barrels, another for drilling the bore, and yet another for grinding the firing mechanism. Finally, a few experienced craftsmen were responsible for assembling and debugging the guns.
"The master's method is truly ingenious."
An old craftsman skillfully tapped the holes in a gun barrel, exclaiming, "I used to make at most two muskets a month, but now I can drill ten holes a day just by doing this. It's a bit tedious, but the speed... wow!"
Not only muskets, but also the manufacture of sidecars, the formulation of gunpowder, and even the sewing of soldiers' cotton armor were all incorporated into this standardized production system.
Standing on the high platform in the workshop, Lu Yan listened to the clanging and hammering sounds below, as if he could hear the roar of machinery on the construction site in his previous life.
"What is the current yield rate?" Lu Yan asked Fan Fu beside him.
"Reporting back to the master, the yield rate of flintlock muskets has increased to 85%. This is mainly due to the high-quality iron you had us buy at a high price. In addition, the production of thunderclaps has also increased, and we can now produce fifty a day."
"not enough."
Lu Yan shook his head. "We need to expand the scale. Go tell Zhao Tie to take a few apprentices and specifically study the casting mold for that 'Franklin cannon.' The Tiger Crouching Cannon alone won't do; we need something with a longer range and greater power. Next time we transport grain, I don't want the brothers to fill the front lines with their own bodies again."
……
Meanwhile, on the other side of the training ground, recruit training was in full swing.
"One! Two! One! Two!"
Zhao Changying held a pointer in his hand and roared at a group of new recruits who had just changed into their new military uniforms.
"Listen up, all of you! In the Lu Family Army, there are only three rules!"
"First, obedience! If I tell you to jump off a cliff, you have to jump! Hesitate even half a step, and you'll be court-martialed!"
"Secondly, cleanliness! Your gun is your second life. If anyone's gun gets rusty, I'll make them lick it clean!"
"Third, no looting of the people! We are a local militia, here to protect the people and safeguard the region! Anyone who dares to harm the people like the government troops, I'll personally chop off their head and hang it on a flagpole!"
This team is undergoing a complete transformation.
Lu Yan introduced the "line-up shooting" tactical training from his previous life—emphasizing discipline, formation, and the mental fortitude to maintain mechanized operations amidst a hail of bullets.
He doesn't need skilled swordsmen; he needs a sophisticated killing machine made up of a thousand parts.
As evening fell, Lu Yan finished inspecting the camp and returned to the central command tent.
Inside the tent, a huge map of Shandong hung on the wall, marked with numerous red and blue arrows.
"Master, our forces have now expanded to eight hundred men. Add in the logistics and craftsmen, and we have a total of twelve hundred people."
Fan Fu handed Lu Yan a cup of hot tea, his tone a mix of excitement and worry, "Just the daily food and drink expenses alone amount to three hundred taels of silver. Although we earn a lot from shipping fees, at this rate..."
"This is a necessary investment."
Lu Yan took a sip of tea, his gaze falling on the location of "Dengzhou" on the map. That was the true future base in his outline plan.
"Fan Fu, don't just focus on Jinan."
Lu Yan drew a line on the map with his finger, extending from Jinan to the Grand Canal and then to the sea.
"Our current size is almost too small to fit in this shallow well of Jinan. Although the government relies on us now, once the war is over, those civil officials will eliminate us as a threat. Before that happens, we need to grow strong enough scales to swim into a wider ocean."
He put down his teacup, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes.
"Pass down the order: for the next grain transport, bring the force to eight hundred men. I want to try out the new 'infantry-artillery coordination' tactic. Also, send someone to Dengzhou to investigate and see what kind of maritime trade there is like."
On this turbulent twilight, a nascent modern army, belonging not only to the Ming Dynasty but also to the future, is growing wildly on this abandoned training ground in the western suburbs of Jinan, accompanied by the sounds of hammering and commands.