On the afternoon of two days later, Cao Rui was sitting in his study reviewing the official documents.
Zhong Yu entered quietly and saluted, "Your Majesty, General Manqiu has arrived and is waiting outside."
"Bring him in."
"Obeying the imperial command."
However, in no time, as Manqiu Jian stepped into the room and found that the emperor himself was dressed in ordinary civilian attire, he couldn't help but be puzzled and said:
"Your Majesty, are you wearing the white dragon fish suit?"
"Yes," Cao Rui glanced at the same civilian attire on Manqiu Jian's body and asked: "Did you bring your sword and seal?"
"Yes," Manqiu Jian reached towards his waist and said, "The seal is with me, but the sword was taken away by the Tiger Guards when I entered the palace."
Cao Rui smiled and said, "Well, let's go then. Today, I will wear plain clothes for a change and go out for a walk. Zhong Gong, accompany me to visit the construction site of the South City Commandery workshop."
Manqiu Jian said: "Your Majesty is to view the military equipment manufacturing, and I should accompany you. How many Tiger Guards should we take?"
Cao Rui glanced at Manqiu Jian with a slightly amused expression: "Why, doesn't Zhong Gong himself have enough swordsmanship to protect the emperor's safety?"
Manqiu Jian said: "I didn't mean that. I just worry that someone might disturb Your Majesty."
Cao Rui laughed and said: "This is Luoyang, my Luoyang. What can happen?"
As he spoke, Xu Shu and Pei Qian, two officials, walked in side by side.
Cao Rui looked at Xu Shu and gave him a hint: "I've heard that when you were young, you dared to kill people. Can you wield a sword now?"
Xu Shu seemed to have recalled his youthful vigor: "It's not that I boast, but my sword skills are better than they were thirty years ago."
Pei Qian, taking the cue, said beside him, "I too have been on the battlefield and possess courage!"
Manqiu Jian turned to look at Xu and Pei, and softly bit his lip. It was well-known that Xu Shu was skilled with the sword, and Pei Qian had fought in battles—these were things Manqiu Jian was aware of.
However, both of these officials are over fifty years old, but they still have such a youthful spirit.
Xu Shu's nature does not seek confinement, and upon hearing that the emperor intended to wear plain clothes for an outing, he proposed to carry his sword and accompany. As for Pei Qian's demeanor, it was completely trying to gauge the emperor's intention, following the old rules of his predecessors.
The four men, swords hanging at their sides, rode south together from the northern gate of the North Palace. After entering the South Palace, they passed through the alley between the Ministry of Ceremonial and the Secretariat, and finally galloped out of the South Palace through the Marquis Gate.
It must be said that, among most officials busy with various matters, it is still quite enjoyable for four people to ride horses through the South Palace.
As they left the southern gate of Luoyang, they followed the official road to the new site of the commandery workshop at the northern bank of the Luo River. They stopped their horses and pulled back on the reins.
Manqiu Jian dismounted, went forward to notify the soldiers guarding the gate, "I am the Commander of the Middle Army, here to inspect the workshop. Let us in."
The old soldier at the gate squinted his eyes, looking at Manqiu Jian's ordinary clothes, then at the three people behind him who were sitting on their horses without any official air.
"Move, quickly move."
"This is the serious commandery, and it's strictly forbidden to enter without permission. If it wasn't for the fact that you few are scholars and talking nonsense here, I would have you all arrested!"
Manqiu Jian didn't get angry either. He took out his purple sash and gold seal from his chest and showed it to the old soldier, waving it in front of him.
The old soldier tried to lean forward to look at it, but was pulled back by the younger official beside him: "Please wait a moment, we will go and inform the Grand Craftsman immediately."
Manqiu Jian, of course, would not hold a grudge against two soldiers. He casually asked, "Is Ma Deheng here today?"
"Yes, yes. Please wait a moment." The young soldier heard the name of the Commandery Grand Craftsman Ma Junt, and he bent over even deeper.
Manqiu Jian turned back to the three men in front of him: "Your Majesty, Ma Junt is here today. My entourage and I did not wear official attire, so the gatekeeper has gone to announce our arrival inside."
Cao Rui was not in a hurry: "Then we'll wait."
It wasn't long before Ma Junt, the newly appointed Commandery Grand Craftsman, ran out.
Ma Junt saw Manqiu Jian, ready to bow in greeting. However, Manqiu Jian pointed to the people behind him with a smile, and Ma Junt only then realized that the emperor had come.
"Officer Ma Junt pays homage to Your Majesty!"
Cao Rui dismounted: "I have some leisure time today, so let's go in and take a look."
"Obeying the imperial command." Ma Junt straightened up and said, "Your Majesty, please follow me. I will explain everything to Your Majesty one by one."
The land by the Luo River is vast and flat, and the commandery workshop occupies a fairly large area, almost as big as the ordinary markets within the city of Luoyang.
Although it was broad daylight, there were almost no people moving between the houses within the commandery workshop. Only occasionally, someone would push a new cart loaded with armor from the workshop to the temporary warehouse.
"Please look to the left," Ma Junt pointed to a row of houses on the left and said, "This is the workshop where armor is prepared."
"Various types of armor have been cast at the iron workshops in the riverside areas of Donghe and Huanghe. They are transported here via waterways, and then processed by artisans to be assembled into armor, resulting in about 200 sets of armor being produced per day."
"It's several times faster than the dozens of sets of armor produced before."
Cao Rui asked, "The Central Army has already been equipped with new armor, why is there still a need to make more?"
Ma Junt explained, "I was also issued a document from the Secretariat. The Secretariat said to prepare armor for storage in the Luoyang Armory in case of deployment, so I followed orders accordingly."
Cao Rui nodded.
Perhaps it was Dong Zhao and Man Cheng, based on the plan to move to Xuchang next year and use troops in the Huaihuai region, who ordered the Commandery Workshop to make the armor. Cao Rui had not paid attention to such minor matters before.
Producing armor is different from other military weapons. It is slower and takes longer. Given the current war situation and the fact that there is no urgency, the daily output of 200 sets of armor produced at Luoyang alone is already very impressive.
Cao Rui asked again: "What about the heavy armor for horse riders?"
Ma Junt replied, "The quota for 3,000 sets of horse armor and heavy armor is almost complete; nearly 2,000 sets have been produced. The Secretariat said to prioritize the production of ordinary armor first and that the armor for mounted soldiers can be delayed a bit."
Manqiu Jian was somewhat puzzled: "Why can't they make both ordinary armor and armor for mounted soldiers at the same time?"
Ma Junt smiled and said, "Commander Manqiu is not aware that the Commandery Workshop is now using the 'assembly line' method decreed by Your Majesty and the Secretariat last year."
"We have re-divided the processes for making different types of armor according to this method."
As he spoke, Ma Junt pointed to the artisans busy in the workshops inside the buildings: "Some are making iron helmets, while others are making shoulder pads. We've allocated more people for those requiring more manpower."
"By separating the production, each has its own process, and at the end of each day, the number of parts produced for each armor set is exactly the same."
Of course, Ma Junt recognized Manqiu Jian.
It was because Manqiu Jian was so well-known in Luoyang, and his father, Manqiu Xing, had been the previous Commandery Grand Craftsman.
Manqiu Jian had probably understood, and asked: "If the armor for mounted soldiers were made at the same time, these numbers would have to be changed, and the order would be disrupted?"
Ma Junt nodded and said, "Commander Manqiu is exactly right."
Cao Rui nodded and asked, "Where are the bows and arrow production?"
Ma Junt pointed to the right and said, "I will show Your Majesty the way."
As they walked, Ma Jun explained, "Your Majesty, the bow is actually divided into three parts."
"The bow, the bow arm, and the bow mechanism."
"Like armor, they are also made in different regions and then transported to Luoyang for assembly."
Cao Rui walked over to a long table where an artisan was about to kneel and kowtow, but Manqiu Jian stopped him, allowing the artisan to stand aside and wait instead.
Cao Rui looked at the crossbow and asked, "Where did these come from?"
Ma Junt replied: "They are all transported from the Copper Officials' Office in Donghe. The artisans assemble the crossbow mechanisms here and then shape them with a file."
The riverside area produces copper, and crossbow mechanisms are almost all made of copper.
As he spoke, Ma Junt pointed to the various parts of the crossbow and said, "Your Majesty, this protrusion is called a 'Looking Mountain', and it has markings that soldiers use to calibrate distances and aim for shooting."
Cao Rui nodded, indicating the function of the sighting device.
Ma Junt continued the introduction: "Below these are the teeth, hanger, cover, and pivot. These are the components used for the firing mechanism of the crossbow."
Cao Rui took the crossbow assembled by Ma Junt in his hand, gently operating the hanger a few times.
This is the trigger!
Glancing at the side of the crossbow mechanism, it seemed that there were some inscriptions.
Cao Rui turned around and looked at the inscriptions on the side of the crossbow mechanism that was slightly indented, reading aloud in a low voice: "August 30, Third Year of Taihe. Made by the Copper Officials' Office in Donghe. Workers Zhihé and Chen Duo, craftsman Liu Qi."
Xu Shu and Pei Qian, although they knew that the Commandery workshops would leave the names of craftsmen, it was the first time they had observed them closely. Unavoidably, their eyes moved closer to take a look.
Cao Rui nodded and said, "Making the craftsmen's names appear on the objects is a good policy. It leaves a trace that can be investigated."
Ma Junt nodded and said: "This method has been around for a long time, but it was not created by me."
Cao Rui smiled as he looked at Ma Junt: "I guess this method has been studied for several centuries. Although you have unique craftsmanship, you are not the first person to do so."
Ma Junt modestly bowed his hands: "Your Majesty is correct. I am merely following the old traditions."
Cao Rui had finished inspecting the crossbow and continued walking around the workshop with his hands behind his back, guided by Ma Junt.
After bidding farewell to Ma Junt, the group set off at a gallop towards the southern gate of Luoyang.
At the same time, Minister Xin Bi and his adjutant Xin Zhao had just arrived at Chenchang.
In the main hall of the Chenchang General House, Cao Zhen also ordered artisans to copy the style of the emperor's lying chair and made his own lying chair as well.
Moreover, the leather pads on the lying chair are changed according to the four seasons. In winter, it's made of tiger skin, in spring, bear skin, in summer, thin cowhide, and in autumn, rabbit skin.
It gives a sense of contentment and joy.
However, Cao Zhen's brows furrowed as he heard the urgent footsteps outside, raising his eyes to look at the person coming in: "What's the matter, Shengping?"
Yang Dan hurried over and said in a low voice, "A scout has reported that Minister Xin will arrive in Chenchang in another hour."
"Who?"
Cao Zhen sat up abruptly, staring at Yang Dan: "Your father-in-law Xin Zhaozheng? Why has he come here?"
Yang Dan shook his head: "I don't know, the scout didn't say either."
After sending Yang Dan away, Cao Zhen walked back and forth in the hall for an unknown number of times, and decided to personally go out to welcome him.
If we consider their relationship, Cao Zhen and Xin Bi have not seen each other for over a year.
At the eastern gate of Chenchang, General Cao Zhen awaited the arrival of Xin Bi's carriage.
Someone had already informed Xin Bi, so he lowered the curtain of his carriage and got out to walk over to Cao Zhen's side.
Cao Zhen smiled and asked, "It's been a long time since we last saw Zhaozheng! Why have you come to Chenchang today?"
Xin Bi sighed and handed the letter from the emperor that he had carried in his breast for ten days to Cao Zhen: "General, the Grand Marshal unexpectedly passed away two weeks ago in Chuzhou. Please accept our condolences." (End of this chapter)
