Department of Works.

Li Mu and Li Daliang have really disappeared for many days. The two of them had no chance to meet. Li Daliang lives in the Ministry of Works. Although he is a famous minister, he has to write a memorial and participate in the court discussion at any time. Basically, it is the Ministry of Works, the court, and these two points and one line.

As for Li Mu, he almost never went to these two places, so he had no chance to meet them.

When we met today, we had a lot to say. What Li Daliang wanted to say was the factory matter. The reason for the construction of the factory was to resettle Li Daliang's sack. Li Mu agreed and did it for him. Originally, Li Daliang thought that this so-called resettlement was just for food. Unexpectedly, Li Mu was so thoughtful that not only gave them a bite of food, but also arranged a female gentleman to teach them to read.

You should know that in this era, literacy is considered a privilege of the gentry. Even if ordinary people can recognize their names, they are knowledgeable. Even if their parents are alive, they will not have the chance to study.

Everyone is responsible for the affairs of the Ministry of Works. I don’t know if it was because of Li Mu’s negligence or forgot that the only factory was not designated to take care of both. Li Daliang took this responsibility himself, and he just ignored other matters and devoted himself to the factory. He was "sitting in the hall" in the factory every day, which put a lot of pressure on the craftsmen.

The factory is now producing parts of Zhenguan plow under the arrangement of Li Mu. Li Daliang has seen a lot and can actually make it. When he was young, he worked as a blacksmith and made plowshares with exquisite workmanship, even Li Mu could not find any fault.

"How? Can you see my skills?" Li Daliang stroked his short beard and said with satisfaction.

Li Mu put down the plowshare and said, "I really didn't expect that Lord Shangshu had such skills. He said without any flattery that even if Lord Shangshu was demoted and confiscated to Lingnan tomorrow, he could still make a fortune in Lingnan by relying on this skills."

This is really not a praising statement at all. Li Daliang smiled helplessly. This is because he has a good temper. If it were Cheng Yaojin, he would have started fighting at this time.

After being unable to continue the conversation, Li Daliang changed the topic and said, "I can't talk to you, a naughty person, so I'll just say it. What's the matter? I'm thinking that you have helped me a lot, I'll do my best to repay you as a favor."

Human favor?

Li Mu was a little puzzled. He didn't remember what he had helped Li Daliang. Li Daliang regarded the factory as a favor, but Li Mu never thought so. The factory was part of the plan he had already decided. Li Daliang found these war orphans, which was exactly what he wanted. In this matter, Li Mu felt that he owed Li Daliang a favor.

However, Li Mu asked for someone at this time. Since Li Daliang said that he was favored, he responded vaguely. Whether he would say anything else, it was true that it was done.

"It's not a big deal." Li Mu coughed lightly and told the matter of training. He knew that Li Daliang had always been cautious, so he first mentioned Li Shimin's response and said, "If Lord Shangshu is worried, I will invite another official decree."

Li Daliang smiled and said, "Don't have to worry about this, I will naturally believe you. I am still good at training troops. There are not many 300 people, and I am from the Tunwei, so it shouldn't be difficult. I just don't know what you want to train these people."

"Look?" Li Mu didn't understand and said, "I wonder what Lord Shangshu is referring to?"

Li Daliang said: "The soldiers of our Tang Dynasty are generally called guards. Those who are good at archery and horses call them Yue cavalry. I am infantry, spearman, and archer. Among the infantry, there are halberds, shields, and Modao hand. The spearman is divided into spears, short spears, and archer. Among the archer, there are stone casters, crossbowmen, and archer..."

Li Mu felt his head hurt. He thought that the ancient troops were very simple, but he didn't expect there were so many differences. He quickly interrupted Li Daliang's long speech and said, "Sir Shangshu, don't say it anymore, these are not what I want."

Now it was Li Daliangqi's turn and said, "Then what do you want?"

Li Mu thought about it and originally wanted to say that what I wanted was a special forces soldier, which one could be used to teach. But when he said that, he swallowed it back. The idea should be combined with reality. Since there are so many troops, it means that there are no soldiers who can teach them at all.

In this case, what kind of soldiers should we need?

"Well..." Li Mu pondered for a moment and said, "Sir Shangshu, I have a brother named Li Chongyi. Does Shangshu know him?"

Li Daliang nodded and said, "I naturally remember the big man who is inseparable from you." As he said that, Li Daliang smiled again and said, "That's a good seedling. If he joined the army, he would be a powerful general in his life!"

"I think so too. Your Majesty gave me these 300 soldiers, and I want him to lead me as a captain. My brother is eight feet tall and born with divine power, and is unstoppable. The soldiers I asked him to choose are also an example. Although they are far less than him, they are also one of the most brave people in the guards. The soldiers I want are those who are as brave as my brother."

Li Daliang heard something and asked, "Are you infantry?"

Li Mu shook his head and said, "The cavalry is the most important in the Tang Dynasty, so it is naturally the cavalry."

Li Daliang thought for a while and said, "If you want cavalry, I have to tell you something to come first to make you ready."

"Sir, please speak."

"In the military system of our Tang Dynasty, those who are in charge of the army, except for the imperial guards, need to prepare their own military horses and weapons, and make achievements. Although Your Majesty gave you five hundred soldiers, you are also allowed to select people from the Tunwei. However, the Tunwei is an imperial guard. After leaving the Tunwei, you naturally cannot take away armor, weapons, and military horses. You have to prepare these. The cost of military horses, armor, weapons, and weapons of 300 people is not low. Moreover, eating horses and chewing horses in the future is also a huge expense. Are you sure you want cavalry?"

Li Mu was stunned. He had thought about this before. If Li Shimin asked him to recruit himself, he had already made plans to bring these things himself. But since he was picking people from the Tunwei, Li Mu did not think about this. His subconscious thought was that he had asked to pick people, so he could not come with his shirtlessness. Weapons and armors are all things that he could not be brought with him?

But after hearing what Li Daliang said, I really didn't let him take him.

Li Mu knew that even if he went to the palace to ask Li Shimin for it now, most of the time, Li Shimin would not give it to him. First of all, this is a fixed rule and it is difficult to change. Furthermore, it would be strange if Li Shimin was so stingy, he would give it to him.

Li Mu gritted his teeth and said, "Don't worry, Lord Shangshu, just train troops. You need any weapons, armor, horses, I, I just need to pay for it myself!"

"I'll tell you first. If you re-built the whole set, it will cost at least tens of thousands of dollars!"

"Ah?" Li Mu was stunned when he heard this price, and blurted out: "A million yuan is enough? So little?"

"..." Li Daliang was speechless, ten thousand yuan, this was a lot of money! What was this surprising tone? Could it be that it was too little? People say that the Marquis of Zhulu was good at making money, making money every day, making money, and the copper coins were piled up so that the warehouse was full, and they were about to overflow. Now, judging from this situation, the rumors were true.

"Since you can accept it, just pretend that I have not said it." Li Daliang continued: "Since you are a cavalry, you must practice riding and shooting, and you must also prepare for a strong bow."

Li Mu said, "Sir, there is no need to be a strong bow. Although I don't know how to arch, I also know that practicing archery is not a matter of overnight. If these guards start practicing at this time, it may not be effective in a short time, so I will prepare substitutes for them."

"Substitute? What? Could it be a crossbow?" Before Li Mu could speak, Li Daliang said again: "The crossbow probably doesn't work. There is only one crossbow arrow. After shooting, the time for another one is enough for the enemy to shoot three arrows. Moreover, the range of the crossbow arrow is much shorter than that of a strong bow, and it is not useful when fighting."

"What if it was Zhuge's crossbow?"

Li Daliang laughed and said, "The legendary Zhuge crossbow has a range of twice that of ordinary crossbow arrows, which is enough to be comparable to a strong bow. Moreover, a box of ten arrows can be used to shoot continuously. When firing volleys, it covers the sky and the sun, making the enemy unable to hide and unable to defend. If there is such a magic weapon, it can naturally replace the strong bow. But this is just a legend. I am fortunate to see several Zhuge crossbows passed down, but they all look like it. None of them can really shoot arrows. I think that this Zhuge crossbow is probably a story compiled by later generations to respect Zhuge Kongming. It is not true. What's the use of such a rumor?"

"Sir Shangshu, there is no groundless thing in the world." Li Mu's mouth curled up a confident smile and said, "Zhuge Lianbi, I have recovered."

Li Daliang was shocked and said, "Are you serious about this?"

"Take it seriously." Li Mu said seriously: "I have built one, and I asked His Majesty to visit it a few days ago. His Majesty personally tried it, and its effect was exactly the same as that of Zhuge Crossbow."

Li Mu said this, and Li Daliang had no doubts anymore. Li Shimin was General Tiance and his understanding of military weapons was better than Li Daliang. Since he had tried it himself, it should be true.

Li Daliang sighed repeatedly and said, "I really didn't expect that there was such a magical weapon in this world. And you can recover it. It was really a rebirth of Lu Ban, which was a clever trick. Good! The Tang Dynasty is very lucky! The Tang Dynasty is very lucky!"

Li Mu interrupted Li Daliang's words with a wry smile and told him the disadvantages of the Zhuge crossbow that he had discussed with Li Shimin. Li Daliang heard that the cost of the Zhuge crossbow was so high that he couldn't help but feel very disappointed and sighed repeatedly.

"Sir Shangshu, don't be discouraged. In time, I may be able to find a way to reduce the cost. Although it cannot provide the entire army, I can still provide the equipment of 300 people."

Li Daliang was a little envious when he heard Li Mu's words. He had never cared about money in his life. Otherwise, he would not have given all the money to his children and craftsmen in the Ministry of Works. But at this moment, he felt that money was useful. There are two disadvantages of Zhuge's crossbow, one is that the recoil force is high, and the other is that the cost is high. But Li Daliang felt that the recoil force is not particularly large.

He is good at defending the city, and he also takes the priority from defending the city. For defending the city, he can use a rack to fix the Zhuge crossbow, and people only need to pull the trigger. Just imagine that with enough arrows, the Zhuge crossbow can be launched continuously, one can hold ten strong bows and one set up a balustrade, even a god can never climb up the city wall.

The biggest problem is the cost. But if you have enough money, this problem is not a problem. Just like Li Mu now, if he has money, he can equip his personal soldiers with Zhuge crossbows. In this way, when the volley is fired, wouldn’t three hundred people be used as three thousand people?

Although military strength cannot be calculated so simply, it still makes people envious.

Li Daliang sighed in his heart, then continued to speak, saying, "Since Zhuge crossbow can replace the strong bow, there is no need to prepare the strong bow. I wonder what weapons do you plan to let them use as their main weapon? A giant axe like your brother will definitely not be able to do it. He is born with divine power and can dance. Ordinary people cannot do it. Fighting immediately is not something that will end after a while. If the weapon is too heavy, I don't feel that when the battle is too strong, I will not be able to fight, and I will drag it down if I don't need the enemy to kill him."

This was another unexpected thing to Li Mu. His original idea was to train a group of "crazy battles". Each of them took two axes and rushed into the enemy, using a "torna slash" to kill the enemy's blood.

After hearing what Li Daliang said, it seems unlikely.

Of course, Li Chongyi's natural divine power can still be achieved, but the soldiers he selected must not be able to do it.

Li Mu thought about it and said, "What do Lord Shangshu think?"

"Cabinets are longer and stronger than cavalry! The longer the weapons, the better. Spears and halberds are all the best choices. If cavalry is against infantry, weapons that are too long will not be very practical. Use more sabers, horse lances, etc.."

Li Mu frowned and asked, "Then are there no weapons that can be long or short?"

Li Daliang said angrily: "What is your weapon? Is it long or short? I have never seen it before. You must be capable and invent it for me to see it."

Li Mu looked down at his crotch and thought to himself, why didn't there be one? The bright silver spear under the crotch of this military marquis can not only be long or short, but also thick or thin. When he is angry, he can still burst out. However, Lord Shangshu is so old that he probably can't understand it.

Li Mu didn't say anything but laughed. Li Daliang said inexplicably, with a tiger face: "Why are you laughing at?"

Li Mu shook his head and said, "It's nothing. I'll think about the matter of weapons. I will practice first, and then discuss with you after I have thought about it."

"Okay, when training, in order to avoid damage, I will use wooden weapons more often. I will practice according to the routine first."

At this time, a clerk came in at the door. Li Mu thought he had come to the Ministry of Works for a few years, so he naturally did not recognize him. However, the clerk recognized him. After saying goodbye, he said, "Sir, Marquis, the palace has come to pass the imperial edict, please come to the palace to meet the marquis. The eunuch knew that the Secretary and the Marquis were talking to the Marquis, and did not come in to disturb him, so he asked the villain to inform him. The eunuch said that Your Majesty was looking for it urgently, so he asked the Marquis to hurry up. If the Marquis is anxious, he can wait."

Li Daliang smiled and said, "Look at you, isn't you? The eunuchs in the palace are afraid of you. Go, the chat is almost done. I will watch the rest of the matter by myself, so you don't have to worry."
Chapter completed!