Chapter 190: Research |
Jia Liangcai stroked his beard and chuckled after hearing Zhao Pu's complaints. "Mr. Zhao, this is a good thing. Why should you be troubled? That people come to join us shows that our Qin Alliance has become the popular choice, the general trend. This should be a cause for celebration."
"..." Zhao Pu remained silent. "But we can't support so many people right now. Moreover, after making too many weapons, we can't possibly sell them all. Trading weapons of war to others is no different than handing a knife to someone else."
Jia Liangcai smiled. "As far as I know, the Alliance is not a monolithic bloc. We can win over some factions, support others, and with the Student Council providing checks and balances from the side, what is there to worry about?"
Zhao Pu frowned. "But if I only agree to accept some people and reject others, won't I offend those who are turned away?"
Jia Liangcai said meaningfully, "Isn't offending people precisely our duty? Building Head Zhao, if you don't do it, are you going to let our Master do it? If you're unwilling, I can step forward."
Zhao Pu looked up at Jia Liangcai, his expression displeased. "Mr. Jia, there's no need to provoke me with your words. If you can play the villain, I naturally can too. I'm just thinking on behalf of the Captain. Don't forget, Mr. Jia, in your time, educated people were the minority, and common folks were illiterate and easy to fool. Now, almost everyone in the residential complex has received an education. They're not so easily deceived."
"Oh?" Jia Liangcai gave a scornful smile. "Building Head Zhao, precisely because I am an educated man, I know that educated people are best at weighing pros and cons. There's no need to deceive educated people; they will find justifications for themselves."
He leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice. "Since that's the case, I have a plan. We can first publicly announce the number of recruits we will accept, then raise the entry threshold, prioritizing those with a special skill or families with two able-bodied men or more. Then, we secretly spread rumors, letting those who join the Qin Alliance praise the benefits. Naturally, great scholars will argue on our behalf. Once the news spreads, the Alliance will not be able to sit idly by."
At this point, Jia Liangcai gave a cold, sinister smile. "They will either have to offer more generous conditions than us or resort to forceful suppression. There's no need for us to worry."
However, the part about publicly announcing the recruitment numbers and then raising the entry threshold was indeed feasible.
Jia Liangcai said, "The Alliance can collapse, but not now."
Jia Liangcai returned to the Home to report back to Qin Ziwen, also recounting the earlier conversation.
Upon hearing this, Qin Ziwen frowned. "Petty."
Jia Liangcai bowed, listening attentively.
Qin Ziwen said, "Accept all those willing to join us. If Zou Jianghe can afford to support them, can't I, Qin Ziwen, afford it?"
"However, saying I support them isn't quite right. It's more accurate to say they support me. I will provide them with weapons for a fee, let them go hunt beasts and occupy resource points, and then take a cut from their earnings. The more they earn, the more I can obtain." Qin Ziwen stood up. "Otherwise, what's the point of my Yanwu Military Arsenal producing so many weapons and armor? No matter how many weapons and armors there are, they need people to wield them to be effective. Otherwise, they're just a pile of useless dead weight."
"Master is wise!"
"However, there is one thing I genuinely need you to do. Collaborate with Guo Xiaochun and screen these people joining our Qin Alliance. Filter out those with good character and principles, and mark those with poor character and a history of betrayal." Qin Ziwen looked back at Jia Liangcai. "This matter must be done well. With many people, eyes become mixed. When the forest grows big, all kinds of birds can easily sneak in. I need to prepare in advance."
"Yes."
Jia Liangcai and Zhao Pu ran their legs off. They recruited over a dozen more people to help with statistics, worked busily all afternoon, and ended up recruiting nearly two hundred people.
The Yanwu Military Arsenal's shortage of workers was solved in one fell swoop.
The one thing the residential complex wasn't short of was people who wanted to eat their fill.
If it weren't for the various restrictions, threats, inducements, and excuses from the Alliance side, the number of people leaving the Alliance would likely have been even greater.
Most of the recruits were assigned to the Yanwu Military Arsenal. Although they weren't professional workers, their learning ability was strong. Having received modern systematic education, they learned new techniques quickly under the guidance of teachers.
To increase efficiency, they were split into separate teams and organized into assembly lines for division of labor in production.
This ensured the technology was broken down, with individuals mastering only a limited part, while simultaneously boosting work efficiency.
Aside from the students, most of the remaining recruits had families. The able-bodied adults from their households were selected to form a hunting team of fifty people.
The weapons, bows, arrows, and armor produced by the Yanwu Military Arsenal were prioritized for the core hunting team. After meeting the core team's needs, they were further supplied to the regular hunting teams.
That very night, the first batch of finished products successfully rolled off the line.
"Sir, these are the long spears and leather armor produced by the Yanwu Military Arsenal." Li Tieshan brought the weapons.
Qin Ziwen took the long spear from him. The spear used moso bamboo for the shaft, uniform in thickness, suitable in length, and just the right weight for an average person.
Interestingly, the three long spears Li Tieshan brought looked like they were stamped from the same mold.
Their length, thickness, and even the angle of the spearheads were remarkably uniform.
This was likely the effect of the Military Equipment Standardization characteristic.
Next was the leather armor. Although the sizes of the leather armor differed, they were extremely similar, like different sizes of the same clothing model.
He intuitively felt that this batch of weapons and armor produced by the Military Arsenal were almost like standardized equipment from the same template.
Although he wasn't clear on the specific advantages of having standardized equipment, he instinctively felt it was a good thing.
"Keep up the good work. By the way, Tieshan, after Du Yu's breakthrough, his current weapon feels a bit light. You need to custom-make a weapon for him. You are the most skilled master craftsman we have here." Qin Ziwen instructed.
Upon hearing the praise, Li Tieshan quickly thumped his chest in assurance. "Sir, I will definitely forge a suitable weapon for Instructor Du!"
The next day, the first longbow was successfully produced.
After testing, the new bow's maximum range was over one hundred and fifty meters. If trained personnel used arcing shots, it could reach over three hundred meters, but at that distance, both lethality and accuracy dropped significantly, relying on quantity for casualties.
The effective range was between 50 to 100 meters.
Within thirty meters, its lethality was greatest.
Against large beasts of the Giant-Toothed Beast's level, it could cause effective damage within a fifty-meter range.
Due to material limitations, the first batch consisted of twenty longbows, which would be completed over the next three days.
Simultaneously, ten long spears and seven sets of Sandworm Armor were successfully produced that day.
The vehicle-mounted crossbow was still under production. While researching it, Li Yue discovered a new metal alloy formula that improved the strength of the crossbow's arms. It was currently undergoing testing. If successful, the new vehicle-mounted crossbow's range and power would see significant improvement.