(Sorry, the second update is late.)

Some key departments in the base have tight guards, and idle people are simply unable to get close to them, such as the large courtyard of the Weapons and Equipment Research Department and the gunpowder weapons factory.

In addition to a dedicated public department, the Ministry of Security has more spies secretly set up, and there is also a battalion of troops stationed here on the periphery. Over the past year, with the continuous expansion of Wugong County, the Ministry of Security will crack down on several spies trying to sneak into the factory every time, including those with excellent light skills and high-quality martial arts skills.

Today, Wugong County is even more abnormal than usual. His Majesty the Emperor of Xiangfu Kingdom is about to come for inspection, so at dawn, Wugong County began martial law. The streets were covered with soldiers carrying guns and sabres. The spies from the Ministry of Security had already been sent down, and they were alertly searching for the suspicious persons.

The county magistrate of the Wugong County, the branch office of the Ministry of Security, the general manager of the equipment production base, the commander of the Weapon Research Department, and other more than 100 officials of all sizes were waiting here early. The master of the Weapons Department of the Huaxia Weifu in the Song Dynasty, and now the Weapon Research Department is full of spring. The pure technician who was smoky and unkempt and was now considered a very well-educated official. He wore a cluster of sixth-rank military officers' robes. Now he no longer needs to study it himself, nor do he make equipment himself. He just needs to organize and supervise the research and development of various research departments under his command, coordinate the allocation of personnel, funding materials, etc. Continuously updating and improving existing equipment and inventing and creating new weapons and equipment is his only goal now.

For Liu Dongming, it was a pain for him to complete such a role for a while. From the beginning, he was frustrated and made trouble everywhere, he was now at ease. This reminded him of what His Majesty said to him. Being a qualified research department commander is much more difficult than being an excellent master. In comparison, the former is much greater than the latter's contribution to Xiangfu Kingdom. It is because he saw the truth clearly that he went to study and study day and night. Today, he has finally successfully transformed from an excellent master to a qualified leader and organizer. Now he has many masters under him, just in terms of craftsmanship, which is much better than he was at his peak. This also makes him very glad that if he did not successfully transform, Liu Dongming would never be the first person in the weapon and equipment research department today.

While feeling moved, some subordinates rushed over and said from afar: "Several lords, Your Majesty's ceremonial carriage has arrived outside Wugong County!"

Everyone hurriedly sorted out their official uniforms, adjusted their expressions, and prepared to welcome His Majesty the Emperor. Because Ye Chen had issued relevant decrees and regulations, similar inspections were not allowed to welcome them, otherwise these people would have been going more than ten miles away to welcome them.

...

...

Ye Chen was very satisfied with the current situation of Wugong County. Everything was so organized, busy and orderly. In the past few months, Wugong County's production efficiency has greatly improved. The daily weapons produced have exceeded Ye Chen's expectations, and the quality has also been greatly improved. The only major problem now is that the iron ore is slightly far away from Wugong County, and the back and forth transportation has affected the production efficiency of some weapons and equipment and increased costs.

Ye Chen's first stop was the Ordnance Factory. Yu Wen, the Minister of Equipment Department, accompanied Ye Chen.

Yu Wen, Liu Dongming and others accompanied Ye Chen, watching while giving an explanation for Ye Chen.

"Your Majesty, here is a factory for giant guns, crossbows and fast crossbows. Giant guns and crossbows are huge in size and carry and transported. We have been studying whether the size and operation steps of guns and crossbows can be reduced without reducing their power, effective shooting distance and accuracy. After a period of repeated trials, the giant guns and crossbows we manufacture have improved greatly compared to before. Now, based on the last time the gears were used, the operating personnel have been reduced to two-thirds of the previous size. The size has also been reduced by about one-third." Liu Dongming pointed to a new giant gun and crossbow next to him and said proudly.

"Very good!" Looking at the giant gun and crossbow that had a lot of shrinkage in size, Ye Chen was very satisfied. The giant gun and crossbow are a powerful weapon for defending cities, siege and field battles. In the early stage, the operators of gears were reduced a lot, but the huge size was still very inconvenient to carry. Now, after reducing the volume, the convenience of the giant gun and crossbow on the battlefield has been greatly improved.

"Your Majesty, there has always been a problem with the fast crossbow, which is the slow winding, and the wounding of the soldiers' fingers is huge, so I have also made certain improvements to this problem." Liu Dongming took the fast crossbow handed over by his entourage, and Ye Chen curiously saw that the appearance of the fast crossbow had changed.

Liu Dongming smiled and reached out to a trainer arranged in advance. The soldier took the improved version of the fast crossbow, hung the string onto a device on his waist, stretched his feet and supported it. The fast crossbow was already spread out. He reached out and took four crossbow arrows, put them all into the hook groove, buckled them, and then handed them to Ye Chen flatly. Ye Chen took the crossbow, aimed at the opposite wall, and gently hooked the trigger. With a light sound, the crossbow arrow shot out and inserted it on the wall. The remaining momentum was not weak, and the tail of the arrow was still buzzing.

"Okay!" Ye Chen blurted out. Seeing that the soldier just now took a very short time to wind the string, Ye Chen naturally knew that if he wanted to reach the soldier just now, if it was the fast crossbow of the past, he would be afraid that only a few soldiers with extremely outstanding arm strength in the army could do it. This soldier obviously did not belong to this list. This improvement can obviously greatly increase the shooting speed of the fast crossbow. The shooting distance of the fast crossbow is not as long as a strong bow, and it is mainly used for close-range coverage shooting. Such a fast winding speed, coupled with four consecutive shots, is equivalent to allowing the soldiers to shoot two or three more rounds of crossbow arrows in the same time. The significance it represents on the battlefield is huge, and at some point it is even enough to change the outcome of a war.

Seeing the huge innovations of two military and national weapons one after another, Ye Chen couldn't help but become more interested. He looked at Yu Wen and Liu Dongming and smiled and said, "If it were this little thing, you might be embarrassed to invite me over. If there are any good things, don't hide them, take them out together!"

Yu Wen smiled slightly, and Liu Dongming scratched his head embarrassedly and said, "Your Majesty, there are still a few good things, all of which have just been developed, and they only have samples. You are about to ask Your Majesty to taste it and see if it can be produced on a large scale?"

"Let's go and have a look!" Ye Chen took the lead and said to Yu Wen as he walked: "Yu Wen, it seems that you have really made a lot of good things for me recently!"

Yu Wen smiled and said, "Your Majesty has made it clear that Liu Dongming is the envoy of the Weapons and Equipment Research Department. He has worked hard and studied day and night. If he can achieve such achievements, he must be a capable official. Moreover, the efficiency of the base has been greatly improved in recent months. I am preparing to ask the general to praise Liu Dongming and the Weapons and Equipment Research Department!"

Ye Chen smiled and said, "Whether to reward me or not, let me talk about it when I see your real good things!"

Yu Wen first asked Ye Chen to look at the hydraulic machinery-driven hammer. Ye Chen naturally knew the importance of hammering to large-scale forging of armor. This was one of the two good things that he decided to take a look at in person after receiving Yu Wen's report.

In front of Ye Chen was a guy the size of an adult bed. Looking at the sound of the hammer clamping the wind, it roared heavily. With several hits, a steel plate was only two inches thick. Ye Chen couldn't help but nodded slightly to express his satisfaction. Although it was a little different than he expected, it was already very good to be able to do this. And as time goes by and with the accumulation of experience and knowledge, these skilled craftsmen will naturally find ways to improve little by little. Ye Chen did not hesitate to his praise and affirmation, and nodded and said, "You are doing a good job."

After receiving Ye Chen's praise, Yu Wen, Liu Dongming, as well as a group of masters and officials from the arsenal behind, were extremely happy, especially the craftsmen involved in the creation of this armor, trembled all over.

"Tell me my will! The master craftsman in charge of the research on hammers will be awarded an official position from the eighth rank. He will be rewarded with a thousand taels of silver." Ye Chen said with a satisfied smile.

"I'm not grateful yet." Yu Wenhe Weapon and Equipment Research Department envoy Liu Dongming quickly winked at a master craftsman behind him. A master craftsman in his thirties who was so happy that he was almost fainted were kneeling down excitedly and said loudly: "Little man Jiang Siwa thanks Your Majesty, long live Your Majesty."

The master craftsman was named Jiang Siwa. He was originally a skilled craftsman in Jingzhao Prefecture, Song State. He heard that Xiangfu Country craftsmen were able to become officials, and inadvertently contacted the physics textbooks circulated from Xiangfu Academy, and sold his property in Song State with great courage. He traveled thousands of miles to Xiangfu Country. He first attended the physics class at Xiangfu Academy for several months and joined the weapon production base. He did not expect that in just half a year, he studied and tinkered with the hammer. A craftsman who was originally humble in Song State became a noble official, and was personally awarded by the legendary emperor.

Ye Chen was very satisfied with Jiang Siwa's reaction. After he got up, he said: "With this big guy, it is possible for us to equip the soldiers with large-scale steel plate armor. This not only makes our soldiers less heavy, but also greatly improves their protection. Jiang Siwa! It is well deserved to be a position from the eighth rank."

In the past, because the plate armor was too time-consuming and labor-intensive, so far, the equipment production bases were built day and night, and the soldiers of the nine legions were only equipped with a small part. They were mainly equipped with officers or special combat departments, while the soldiers still used old-fashioned armor. Although this old-fashioned armor is lighter than the armor of the Song and Liao countries, it is not difficult to make, but the cost is high. Moreover, the soldiers weigh dozens of kilograms, which greatly limits the combat capability of the soldiers. If the plate armor can be equipped with troops on a large scale, a set of armor will be almost half reduced, thus saving a lot of physical strength under the same circumstances. The saved physical strength is reflected in the battlefield, which is more vigorous combat power and endurance.
Chapter completed!