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Text Chapter 38 The Beginning of the Whaling Industry

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    Zhao Fu was stunned when he heard Li Min's question, and immediately replied: "Your Majesty, every state generally has arms workshops. We have a heavy army stationed in Dengzhou, so not only do we have them, but the scale is not small, there are four  Hundreds of craftsmen are working in the workshops.¡±

    "Great, please help me quickly find some craftsmen who can make crossbows. I will be of great use!" Li Min shouted excitedly.

    Zhao Fu was stunned after hearing this and said hurriedly: "Your Highness, crossbows are standard equipment in the military. Except for official military workshops and a few permitted private military workshops, no one else is allowed to make them privately!" Zhao Fu spoke.  At that time, the words "anyone" were specially emphasized, obviously to remind Li Min that it is illegal to make weapons privately, especially since he is a prince and his status is even more sensitive.

    "Don't worry, I'm not asking for a crossbow to be used in the army, just go find it." Li Xin smiled extremely obscenely. The manufacturing of military crossbows has extremely strict processes and specifications, but as long as he doesn't follow this process  According to the specifications, even if he creates something similar and changes his name, with his current identity and status, who would dare to do anything to him?

    Zhao Fu had no choice but to send people to the weapons workshop and find several skilled crossbow craftsmen.  Li Min brought these craftsmen to the newly built Academy of Sciences, and then explained his idea to them. In fact, the structure of this thing is almost exactly the same as the bed crossbow, but some changes have been made, such as adding up, down, left and right below.  The turntable that can be turned, especially the most critical crossbow arm, was changed by Li Min into two torsion springs.  The so-called torsion spring is actually made of horsetail, animal sinew or even iron wire, and then two hardwoods are inserted in the middle to replace the elastic force of the crossbow arm with torsion.

    In fact, what Li Min made is based on the same principle as the ballista made by the Greeks, but this thing was shrunk a lot by Li Min.  It is even smaller than the bed crossbow equipped on the ship.  The materials used for this thing can be found easily. Unlike crossbows, which have extremely high requirements for production materials, a crossbow takes at least one or two years from material selection to completion.

    The reason why Li Min wanted to create such a bargain was naturally because he had his own plans.  After shooting the whale at sea, Li Min suddenly thought of an industry that was very prosperous in history, that is, the whaling industry. Whales are full of treasures, not to mention their meat.  Whale blubber can be boiled into oil, whale skin is also the best leather, and other baleen, whale bones, tendons, etc. are also very versatile.

    Nowadays, whales in the ocean have not been hunted by humans, and there are extremely many whales in the ocean.  Li Min also asked people familiar with the situation in Dengzhou's offshore waters.  Every year, there are many whales in the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea, and occasionally whales attack ships. Therefore, he targeted the whales and wanted to add another way of making money to Dengzhou.

    But if you want to catch whales, you need special tools. Li Min doesn't want fishermen to fight for their lives in the sea with harpoons and whales.  However, the bed crossbow is a standard equipment of the army and cannot be used on ordinary fishing boats.  And he couldn't afford it, so he wanted to make a cheap product.  It doesn't have to be too powerful, as long as it can shoot the harpoon or special arrow dozens of meters away. After all, this is whaling and not fighting with people. It doesn't matter if the range is closer, just get closer and shoot again.

    Li Min had a good idea, but in the process of making this kind of copycat crossbow, a problem arose, that is, the accuracy of the crossbow was very poor, and the arrows shot were often several meters off the target.  The whale's huge body could be shot even if it was off by a few meters, but Li Min was extremely dissatisfied. After studying it with the craftsmen for a long time, he found that it was caused by the uneven elasticity of the two torsion springs.

    Once the problem was discovered, it was easily solved. Through the adjustments of the craftsmen, the elastic force of the two springs was finally equalized. The arrow shot this time was indeed very accurate. Although there was still a slight error, within a distance of tens of meters,  This small error is almost negligible.

    After this kind of copycat crossbow is completed, because the crossbow arm has been changed into two torsion springs, it looks very different from the bed crossbow in appearance, and a tray that can rotate in all directions is added below, and there are  an armrest.  When using it, first load the arrow, then one person will hold the armrest and turn it. After aiming, fire the crossbow and shoot out the special javelin-like arrow on it. There is a barb in the front of the arrow to prevent the whale from breaking away, and there is also a  An inflatable raft is attached to the cable so that wherever the shot whale goes, they can be seen from the surface.

    In order to avoid the taboo word "crossbow", Li Min changed the name of this kind of imitation crossbow to fish cannon. This thing was invented just for catching whales, and with its power and range, it is impossible to make it a standard preparation for the army. Although it  The cost is very cheap.

    After getting the weapons for hunting whales, Xijun also bought a large and sturdy ship. After all, the whale is so big that ordinary fishing boats cannot drag it. Of course, the ship has also been renovated, and there are useless buildings on it.  They were all demolished, leaving a large deck empty, andA primitive human-powered crane was also built using pulleys and the resulting frame, which was used to hoist the whale from the sea and then dissect it directly on the ship.

    Everything was ready, but the manpower problem arose again. Although Li Min had brought back a whale, and many people in Dengzhou City had eaten whale meat, they still felt a little in awe of such sacred creatures as whales, so  When Li Min's fishermen heard that they were going to hunt whales, they all shook their heads and did not dare to go.

    Regarding this situation, Li Min did not force it, but he proposed on the spot that the wages of workers on whaling ships would be increased three times, and other benefits would be much better than those of ordinary fishing workers. The workers in his fishing team were unwilling to do so.  It doesn't matter, Li Min has posted notices recruiting people in all four counties of Dengzhou City.

    It is said that there must be brave men under heavy rewards. Among the hundreds of thousands of people in Dengzhou, there are always some who are bold or are forced by life. Seeing the extremely generous wages, they rush to the Qi Prince's Mansion in Dengzhou to sign up. Therefore,  In just a few days, the personnel problem of the whaling ship has been solved. After a period of training and integration, they were released to sea. As for when they will come back, there is no guarantee. With luck, it will be three or five years ago.  Oh my god, if you are unlucky, you may run out of supplies and not encounter a whale. After all, everything is just the beginning now. You have to slowly figure out the rules of whales.

    In the Liangyi Hall in Chang'an City, Li Shimin stood with his hands behind his hands and laughed. Below him were Fang Xuanling, Li Jing and other important civil and military officials. However, the faces of these people were either happy or worried, and they obviously did not agree with each other.

    "What a God-given opportunity! Civil strife in Goguryeo is imminent, and by then our Tang Dynasty will be able to eliminate this trouble without any effort!" Li Shimin said with excitement while laughing.  Good news came from Dengzhou today. The efforts made some time ago finally bear fruit. The two forces of the Yuan family and King Rongliu have finally reached the final step.

    "Your Majesty, although this is a good opportunity to destroy Goguryeo, as a soldier, it is such a big deal, so you must do everything with caution!" Fang Xuanling was a little helpless. Although he knew it would have no effect, he still held on to it with all his might.  One's hope persuaded.

    "Prime Minister, you are too cautious. Such a great opportunity is the right time to get rid of Goguryeo in one fell swoop. If we miss this good opportunity, who knows when we will have another chance?" Before Li Shimin could say, the Minister of War  Hou Junji came out and said, and his words were immediately supported by most military generals and some civil servants.

    Seeing that most people supported the war, Fang Xuanling couldn't help but feel a little anxious. However, what he didn't expect was that Li Jing also came out and said, "Jun Ji is right, and I also think it's time."

    "Brother Yao, you" Fang Xuanling was stunned. He didn't expect that Li Jing, who had always been in the same camp as him, would also agree to send troops?

    "Xuanling, you are usually busy with government affairs, so you may not have paid attention to some things." Li Min interrupted Fang Xuanling and said, "His Royal Highness the King of Qi proposed three strategies for Ping Liao and Liao, and now the second strategy for alienation has been launched.  In the end, the powerful Yuan family and the weak King Rongliu are about to fight. Even if one of them wins, the country will definitely be in great turmoil and even seriously damaged. Such an opportunity is really rare. And the fatigue of the first article  The enemy's strategy has been implemented for more than a year, and the results have begun to show. According to detailed reports, famine is now occurring in many places in Goguryeo. The country's tax revenue is more than one-fifth less than in previous years. Many people are  Because they were unable to eat, they were fleeing or resisting, and the domestic situation in Goguryeo was in chaos."

    Li Jing paused for a moment, thought for a moment and then said: "As for the third plan to strengthen ourselves, the Baidiezi proposed by His Highness King Qi has been planted a lot this year, and the output is calculated to be less, but  It can also allow some sergeants to wear cotton-padded clothes. But from my point of view, Qiang is not just something that can be used like a white stack. The gunpowder weapon that His Highness came up with last time has great power, whether it is for sieges or field battles.  , with the help of these new weapons, coupled with the great military strength of the Tang Dynasty, it is not difficult to destroy Goguryeo in a short time."

    "Okay, the words of the pharmacist are very popular with me!" After listening to Li Jing's analysis and explanation, Li Shimin was the first to clapped his hands and praised. The others carefully analyzed what Li Jing said and found that it was indeed the case. Now they, the Tang Dynasty, were in an absolute position against Goguryeo.  Its advantages, whether it is national power, political or military strength, are far beyond the comparison of small Goguryeo.

    Fang Xuanling also felt that what Li Jing said was reasonable, but he was cautious, so he said again: "Your Highness, although Senior Brother Yao's words are reasonable, I think it is better to be cautious. After all, Goguryeo occupies a favorable geographical situation. If we prepare  If it is not sufficient"

    "Xuanling, please stop trying to persuade me. I have made up my mind on this matter. The day the Yuan clan takes action will be the time when the Tang Dynasty raises its troops!" Li Shimin interrupted Fang Xuanling with a wave of his hand.

    Just when Li Shimin and the civil and military ministers decided to conquer?At the time of Goguryeo's decision, a very fierce game was being held in a large polo field in Chang'an City. But what was surprising was that this game was not polo, but a new sport in Chang'an.  (To be continued)

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