Zhang Chen hurriedly helped Xu Yuan up and asked, "Mr. Xu, if we were to order Yuan Crossbow and Yuan Crossbow in large quantities, would it be feasible?"
Xu Yuan said, "There's naturally no problem with the Yuan Crossbow, but the Yuan Crossbow takes longer to make, so it might be difficult to mass-produce it quickly."
"No matter," Zhang Chen said. "The Yuan Crossbow is a siege weapon; two or three will be enough, and besides, we don't need it right now. It's this Yuan Crossbow that I need to produce in large quantities."
"How many does Lord need?"
"Let's make ten thousand first."
"Ten thousand?!" Xu Yuan exclaimed in surprise. "Such a quantity requires a lot of manpower. Currently, in Luban Hall, there are probably no more than thirty people who can make the Yuan Crossbow. If we want to make ten thousand, it will likely take at least two months."
"Two months..."
Zhang Chen pondered to himself.
Two months is too long. The Black Mountain Army is always a hidden danger. What if they make a move within two months and we aren't ready? Wouldn't that be terrible?
Is there any way to speed things up?
Zhang Chen began to think quietly.
After a long time, Zhang Chen suddenly opened his eyes and said, "Mr. Xu, you said that in Luban Hall, only thirty people can make the Yuan Crossbow. Does that mean that only thirty people can complete the entire process from start to finish to make one?"
Xu Yuan nodded and said, "Precisely. There are a few parts of this crossbow where the craftsmanship is complex, and only experienced carpenters can do it. Lord, there's nothing that can be done about that."
"So, if that's the case, only a few parts are complex, and the others can be done by anyone, right?"
"Yes, apart from those few parts, the others are not difficult. Even a carpenter who has just started can complete them."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen said, "If that's the case, what if we break down the production process, with each person responsible for only one step? Once one step is completed, it's passed to the next person to continue. This way, only the skilled craftsmen are needed for the complex steps, and everyone else can participate in the production. This will surely increase efficiency!"
"This... Lord..." Upon hearing this, Xu Yuan was immediately astonished.
He had never thought there was such a production method.
Xu Yuan said with a face full of astonishment, "The method Lord mentioned is something this old man has never heard of. However, this old man feels that this method might be useful!"
Zhang Chen smiled and said, "Mr. Xu can certainly give it a try; this method will definitely be effective. I estimate that if we follow this method, ten thousand Yuan Crossbows can be made in less than half a month."
"Half... half a month!" Xu Yuan couldn't help but widen his eyes.
If they could really be made in half a month, wouldn't the efficiency increase by four times!
Is it really that amazing?
Zhang Chen couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. This was the famous "assembly line" from the Industrial Revolution! Its birth greatly improved production efficiency. In this era, wasn't it a dimension-reducing strike?
"This old man will organize the manpower now and give it a try according to Lord's method!"
"Wait," Zhang Chen called out to Xu Yuan and instructed, "Sir, remember that after splitting the process, each person is only given the blueprints for the part they are responsible for. As for the most crucial parts, you must personally oversee them and absolutely not reveal the complete blueprint. This item is of great importance; once leaked and copied by others, it will become a major problem!"
"Lord, rest assured, this old man understands the stakes." After saying that, Xu Yuan bowed again and turned to leave.
Zhang Chen was very satisfied in his heart. Once these Yuan Crossbows were made and equipped to the crossbowmen and the First to Ascend Camp, their combat power would definitely rise to another level!
He wondered how the recruitment efforts had progressed in the past few days.
Thinking this, Zhang Chen turned and headed towards the Military Camp.
As soon as he entered the camp, he heard the deafening shouts of killing.
Zhang Chen followed the sound and saw that Gao Shun was leading men in training on the drill ground. Looking at this scene, Zhang Chen recalled the time when he trained the seven hundred Trapped Camp soldiers in Guangping County.
However, the number of people on the drill ground now was much greater than back then.
It seemed these were the expanded Trapped Camp soldiers.
Zhang Chen strolled over.
When Gao Shun saw Zhang Chen, he ordered a "Stop!" and immediately came before Zhang Chen and bowed, saying, "Lord."
Zhang Chen looked at these armored soldiers and was greatly pleased, saying, "Xiaofu, are these the expanded Halberdiers? Each and every one is truly mighty and robust!"
Gao Shun nodded and said, "That's right. These men were carefully selected. The Trapped Camp is heavy infantry; only those who are strong and healthy, with Superhuman Strength, can serve."
"Heavy armor?" Zhang Chen was momentarily suspicious and said, "But I see that the brothers in the Trapped Camp aren't wearing heavy armor."
Gao Shun said, "Lord, you may not know, but the Trapped Camp was originally heavy infantry. Does Lord know how those seven hundred soldiers were selected back then?"
Zhang Chen shook his head in confusion.
"On that day, Zhang He selected the soldiers by requiring each of them to carry a bamboo basket filled with fifty catties of stones, starting from Guangping County's East Gate and walking around the city. Those who could still stand after persevering from Chen Shi (7-9 AM) until Shen Shi (3-5 PM) were eligible for selection!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen couldn't help but be inexplicably horrified.
Carrying fifty catties, walking from Chen Shi to Shen Shi, a full five hours – that's a full ten hours!
Let alone carrying a load, an ordinary person would probably be exhausted after walking for just one hour.
No wonder the Trapped Camp is brave and invincible; it turns out the selection criteria were so strict!
Zhang Chen then said, "If that's the case, why didn't you mention it back then?"
Gao Shun then said, "Lord, heavy armor and heavy shields are extremely expensive. Our treasury was empty back then; how could we afford them? Zhang He could only settle for the next best thing. In fact, the true Trapped Camp should be clad in heavy armor and holding heavy shields. Only then, when charging into the enemy formation, can they inflict massive damage on the enemy and achieve victory in every attack and win every battle. Since it's named 'Trap Camp,' they should go into every battle with the resolve to die, so how could they not have excellent armor for protection?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen couldn't help but feel ashamed and said, "We are not what we used to be. Don't worry, I will handle the matters of armor and equipment. You just focus on training the troops. I want every Halberdier to be brave and capable of fighting a hundred!"
Upon hearing this, Gao Shun immediately bowed and said, "Zhang He will definitely not fail Lord's expectations!"
Zhang Chen nodded, looked around, and saw that on the drill ground on the other side, Qu Yi was also training soldiers.
Unlike Gao Shun's side, those soldiers didn't have loud shouts of killing. Instead, each person held a hand crossbow and was aiming at the straw targets in the distance.
Qu Yi's eyebrows were cold and his eyes stern. He raised his hand and swung it down forcefully.
In an instant, a volley of arrows shot through the air, and in the blink of an eye, the straw targets opposite all fell to the ground.
"Good!" Zhang Chen praised loudly and strolled over.
"Stop!" Qu Yi saw Zhang Chen and hurriedly ordered the troops to halt. He then immediately came before Zhang Chen and bowed, saying, "Lord."
"Brother Qu is indeed skilled in leading troops. These brothers' archery skills are so superb, they can be called elites!"
"Lord is too kind," Qu Yi said. "We've trained for many days, and only now are we seeing some results. In true combat, we still need to coordinate with each other to succeed!"
"Coordinate with each other?" Zhang Chen couldn't help but ask curiously, "Crossbowmen attack the enemy with arrows; do they still need to coordinate with others?"
Qu Yi smiled and said, "Of course. Lord may not know, but although crossbow bolts are sharp, loading them takes quite some time. Therefore, in battle, we need to divide into front and rear formations. When the front formation finishes shooting, they immediately retreat to the rear formation to load bolts, and then the rear formation moves forward to shoot. By doing this repeatedly, we can ensure continuous firepower. One key point in training crossbowmen is the loading speed; the more skilled and faster, the better. This way, while others shoot one round, you can shoot three, greatly increasing the power, right?"
"So that's how it is," Zhang Chen said with a smile. "Then, I wonder how long it takes for the crossbowmen trained by Brother Qu to load their bolts."
Upon hearing this, Qu Yi couldn't help but say proudly, "They can definitely load them within three breaths."
"Hahaha," Zhang Chen couldn't help but laugh. "What if it were even faster?"
"Faster?" Qu Yi hesitated and said, "That might be difficult. Three breaths is already very fast. Ordinary crossbowmen probably take five to seven breaths."
Zhang Chen looked at Qu Yi and smiled slightly, saying, "What if I told you there was something that could fire ten bolts at once?"
"Fire ten bolts at once?" Qu Yi couldn't help but be startled, then shook his head and said, "Even the strong crossbows of the First to Ascend Camp only fire three bolts at once. If ten bolts are fired at once, with the force averaged out, how could there be any killing power?"
"Not so," Zhang Chen said. "The strong crossbows of the First to Ascend Camp fire three arrows simultaneously in different directions, dispersing the force. But because they are strong crossbows, their killing power is still considerable. What I'm talking about is loading ten bolts at once and being able to fire them continuously. After firing all ten, you reload."
"What!" Qu Yi was greatly shocked upon hearing this. "Where in the world is there such a bow or crossbow? Lord isn't joking, are you?"
Zhang Chen smiled, took out the Yuan Crossbow from his embrace, and handed it to Qu Yi.
