Chapter 43 of 100

Chapter 43

15 min read3,737 words

Liu Yao frowned when he heard this, the manufacturing problem of the fish-scale armor was indeed a difficult one. Then, a flash of inspiration struck Liu Yao, "Old Master Ou, why not use an assembly line method for forging?"

Ou Feng was stunned when he heard this and asked curiously, "Lord, what is an assembly line?"

"Ah." Liu Yao was momentarily speechless, he had completely forgotten that Ou Feng wouldn't understand this term. He then slowly explained, "An assembly line means breaking down all the steps. One person specializes in making iron plates, and another person specializes in connecting the iron plates. This way, wouldn't the forging of fish-scale armor be faster?"

Ou Feng was delighted when he heard this. As a master blacksmith, he understood immediately. He said excitedly, "Lord, you are truly a heavenly being, to come up with such a good method. This way, not only fish-scale armor, but even other weapons like the repeating crossbow can be produced much more efficiently."

"Good. That's great," Liu Yao said happily. "Since that's the case, I need ten thousand cavalry lances, ten thousand陌刀 (mò dāo), twenty thousand fish-scale armors, twenty thousand repeating crossbows, and ten thousand sets of heavy armor to cover the horses within two years. Old Master Ou, can you complete this task?"

Ou Feng said confidently, "Lord, this old man will do his utmost to complete the task you have given me."

"Then I leave it to you, Old Master Ou."

In the conference hall of the Prefectural Governor's Office.

Liu Yao issued an order for an emergency meeting, and all his close subordinates were now present.

Liu Yao sat in the main seat, scanned the crowd below, and said, "The reason I have gathered all of you here today is to discuss the affairs of our Youzhou army. Although we now have 150,000 troops in Youzhou, most of them are just ordinary soldiers. If we go to war in the future, the number of troops we bring will certainly be large. Not to mention casualties, even the consumption will be a huge issue. But now, the only true elite troops are the 3,000 men in my personal guard and the 1,000 men in Gao Shun's Xianfeng Camp. Therefore, I want to form another elite unit. What do you all think?"

The people below exchanged glances, and finally, Ju Shou spoke up, "Lord, I also believe that forming an elite unit is feasible, but I don't know how you plan to arrange it."

Liu Yao, seeing that his proposal was met with no opposition, nodded in satisfaction and said, "First, Gao Shun's Xianfeng Camp is too small and needs to be expanded. I plan to take 2,000 men from my personal guard and select another 7,000 of the most elite infantry from all of Youzhou, totaling 10,000 men, to form a new Xianfeng Camp. Additionally, I will select 10,000 cavalry to form a Chongfeng Camp."

As soon as Liu Yao finished speaking, Gao Shun immediately objected, "Lord, it is difficult for this subordinate to comply. The soldiers in the Xianfeng Camp are selected from the best of the best, and I barely managed to select 1,000 men from Youzhou. The physical fitness of the remaining men does not meet my requirements. Please, Lord, reconsider."

"Ha ha. Gao Shun, you need not worry. I have already made preparations." Liu Yao said with a smile. He then took out a training list from his sleeve and gave one to each person below. "This is the new training plan I have determined. With the effectiveness of the Five Animals Exercise from Master Hua, these will not be problems."

Everyone took the list and read it carefully. After finishing, they all frowned.

"Lord, the training of soldiers usually involves teaching them how to use weapons or combat techniques, but you are making them run and stand. Isn't this just a joke?" Huang Zhong asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Ha ha, Han Sheng, have I ever disappointed you in all these years?" Liu Yao said with a smile.

For a moment, everyone was speechless. Indeed, this young lord often came up with things that seemed unreliable, but none of them had ever disappointed them.

Liu Yao, seeing this, said to further convince them, "Do you know why I can come up with so many things like stirrups and repeating crossbows?"

Everyone shook their heads and looked at Liu Yao.

"To be honest, these were all given to me by the High Ancestor in my dreams," Liu Yao announced loudly.

"What!!!" Everyone was shocked. They suddenly understood, "So the High Ancestor sent a dream to Lord, which is why he has achieved such remarkable results at such a young age. It seems Lord is the one sent by the High Ancestor to save the Han dynasty." For a moment, everyone became even more loyal to Liu Yao.

Liu Yao, seeing their expressions, was delighted. "People in this era are indeed more superstitious. Once they encounter such matters, they believe without hesitation."

"Since that's the case, does anyone have any doubts about my training plan?" Liu Yao asked.

"Lord, this subordinate still has a question," Gao Shun said.

Liu Yao frowned and looked at Gao Shun, "Speak!!!"

"This subordinate believes that this training plan is too harsh. Things like running 20 kilometers with a load, the soldiers will definitely not be able to endure it," Gao Shun said.

"This..." Liu Yao was momentarily speechless. He had written this plan based on modern standards but had not considered that people in this era did not have the same nutrition and physical condition as in his previous life. Many people would consider having a bowl of rice a great happiness.

"Ah, Gongxiao, this is not difficult. Just give them a meal of meat every day, and that will be fine. If they can eat meat after training, those rascals will be so excited that they won't be able to hold out," Zhang Fei said from the side.

Liu Yao was delighted to hear this. Sometimes, the simple methods suggested by this simple-minded person were indeed effective.

Before Liu Yao could agree with Zhang Fei, Tian Feng shouted angrily, "Yide, don't talk nonsense. Do you know how much it would cost to feed 20,000 men meat every day?"

Zhang Fei, who usually feared the stern Tian Feng, muttered softly, "It's just money. Besides, Ziyi brought back so many cattle and sheep from the Wuhuan last time."

"You fool, how can a little bit of mutton be enough for 20,000 men to eat every day?" Tian Feng scolded. In the Three Kingdoms period, oxen were used for farming, so they were generally not eaten. Therefore, only mutton was available.

"If not mutton, can we eat pork?" Zhang Fei countered. As a former butcher, he immediately thought of pork.

"Alright, Yuanhao, Yide, both of you stop arguing," Liu Yao quickly intervened. "I think Yide's idea is not bad. Pork is indeed much cheaper than mutton. We can exchange the extra cattle and sheep for pigs, which should be enough for 20,000 men." In the Three Kingdoms period, the aristocratic families and scholars considered pork unclean, so only the poor ate it, leading to its low price. For soldiers who couldn't even afford meat, being able to eat a meal of meat was already unbelievable, so they wouldn't care what kind of meat it was.

"Whatever Lord commands," Tian Feng agreed, but he would probably rather die than eat pork himself.

"Good, since that's the case, let's proceed according to my plan. The Xianfeng Camp will still be led by Gongxiao. As for the Chongfeng Camp..."

Liu Yao paused and looked around at the people seated. Everyone looked at him with anticipation.

"Let's have Zilong lead it," Liu Yao finally decided. After all, Zhao Yun was brave and strategic, and historically, he had led the White Horse Volunteers, showing his skill in cavalry. Entrusting the Chongfeng Camp to him was definitely the right choice.

Everyone was disappointed for a moment that they weren't chosen, but then they congratulated Zhao Yun. After all, they all had a good relationship with Zhao Yun, and his martial arts and character had been recognized by everyone over the past few days.

"Thank you, Lord. Yun will not let you down," Zhao Yun said, moved.

"Alright, that's all we need to discuss. Everyone, go back to your duties," Liu Yao said and then left the conference hall.

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