The cabin on the uppermost level was very large, and there were many semi-finished and finished products piled up inside. Beside each craftsman was a large number of small wooden poles and iron arrowheads, and in front of them was a small table filled with glue.
They sat on small stools, holding small arrowheads in their left and right hands holding small wooden sticks, smearing glue on them, and then gluing the sticks to the arrowheads. After making sure that the arrowheads were secure, they placed the arrowheads on the empty table on the right.
When there were enough finished arrows on the empty table, there would be specialized craftsmen in charge of collecting them and placing them on the drying rack in the cabin. After drying, they could be used.
The number of craftsmen on this level was controllable, and they could have as many as needed. The temporary craftsmen would be able to do it quickly. After all, this kind of work did not require much skill, and was simply too simple.
The first few processes were also not difficult. As long as the frontline needed arrows, increasing the production by ten times was a small matter, and more craftsmen would be able to do it.
There were many shelves in the cabin, and on them were densely packed finished arrows. At present, they were still in the drying stage. Once the arrowheads were completely solidified, they would be collected and packaged according to the scale of fifty arrows in a bundle, which was tied up with rope.
After that, every twenty bundles would be placed in a wooden box, making it easier to transport. These arrows would be smoothly transported to the frontline and handed over to Osman and Altik's troops.
As for why the arrows were placed in the wooden boxes, it was naturally to preserve them. Arrows placed in the open were easily damaged, and thin wooden strips could not be sturdy. At the same time, the glue was also afraid of sunlight and rain erosion. Using the wooden boxes to protect these arrows would allow them to be used normally.
There were many arrows that were being dried, and there were also many arrows that had been completely dried. They were tied together and stacked very high. The military ship in charge of producing the wooden boxes was on another ship, and many craftsmen were busy sending the finished wooden boxes over. Then, they would put in twenty bundles of arrows and transport them to the shipping area for storage.
Ang Lee needed to personally inspect the quality of the arrows, so that he could be more at ease. He picked up a bundle of arrows, gently untied the rope, and inspected them one by one in his hands.
"Not bad, very well done. All of them pass, hahaha!"
Ang Lee smiled happily. He was very satisfied with the quality of the craftsmen's work. All of them passed after a casual inspection, which meant that most of the products produced were up to standard, and the passing rate was close to 100%.
"Assistant Minister Li, the military ship has not reached the maximum output yet. If necessary, we can increase the output by ten times, and it is not difficult to produce hundreds of thousands of arrows every day."
The subordinate reported proudly.
Li An nodded in satisfaction and said, "Good, very good. I'm relieved that you can maintain such a high production rate. Osman and Artek will soon face an expansion of their armies. Their demand for weapons is very high, especially for weapons with high consumption like arrows. Maintain the current production rate first. As long as there is a need, we will be ready to increase the production rate."
"Yes, your subordinate's subordinate....
"subordinate replied.
At present, 90% of the arrows produced were needed for repeating crossbows. First, it was because repeating crossbows consumed arrows faster. Second, only the Tang dynasty had the experience and ability to produce repeating crossbows. If Osman and Altik were to produce repeating crossbows, they would not have this ability at all.
A lot of ordinary arrows were also produced to better support Osman and Altik. Anyway, they had to pay for them.
In addition, a lot of spear heads were produced, and they were all much more advanced than the ones owned by Osman and Altik. After all, the metal smelting technology of the Tang dynasty was incomparable to these small countries. The metals smelted by the Tang dynasty were stronger and more durable, and the chances of them being damaged on the battlefield were much lower than the weapons produced by themselves.
As for spears, they were only made of wood. In order to facilitate transportation, the Tang dynasty did not provide spears for them. They should be able to easily solve the problem themselves.
Armor was a defensive weapon and an important piece of equipment for an army. Since ancient times, the dynasties of Hua Xia had attached much more importance to armor than weapons. It was not a big deal for ordinary people to have a saber or a bow, but if they had armor, they would be suspected of rebellion.
Many dynasties had stipulated that as long as one had a piece of armor, it would be a crime of rebellion. However, if one had a spear or a bow, it would not be a crime.
Of course, if one had a heavy weapon like a Fuyuan crossbow or a Mo saber, it would also be a crime. This was because an ordinary person did not need such powerful weapons at all. Spears and bows were enough to deal with wild beasts like wolves, tigers, and leopards. Why would one need a Fuyuan crossbow, a Mo saber, and armor?
Because the imperial court of Hua Xia was more sensitive to defensive armor, Ang Lee did not provide armor to Osman and Altik. Supporting them with weapons was already benevolent enough.
After walking out of the first military ship, Ang Lee went to the other two military ships. Unlike the first military ship, which produced arrows, the second steamship mainly produced spears and other melee weapons. The third military ship produced repeating crossbows and Fuyuan crossbows. Of course, there were also some auxiliary items, such as supply wagons and wooden boxes.
After these military materials were produced, they would be directly sent to the camps of Osman and Altik in the north. The people responsible for the transportation were not the soldiers of the Tang dynasty, but ordinary local merchants. They would receive a certain amount of remuneration. Of course, it was paid by Altik and Osman. In order to ensure the safety of these merchants, Osman and Altik would send some troops back to escort them.
After inspecting the three military ships, Ang Lee returned to his residence with satisfaction. He picked up the map and began to study the next step of the plan.
Now that Altik and Osman had achieved great results, it was not difficult to achieve their goal. Ang Lee also had to start preparing for the next construction plan.
Aden City was a complete city. The port, commercial facilities, and even the city walls were all in perfect condition. None of them had been damaged by the war, so there was no need to worry about rebuilding or planning. All they needed to do was occupy this city.
However, with the further prosperity of commerce and the opening of the canal in the future, the current scale of Aden City was clearly too small. It had to be expanded to meet the needs of the future expansion of commerce. Therefore, expansion was a task that had to be completed.
However, Ang Lee still had to think carefully about how to expand Aden City and the port. He couldn't afford to be careless in the slightest, lest he caused irreparable damage.
There was no doubt that the port had to be expanded. With the influx of more ships, the current size of Aden City's port would be unable to accommodate them sooner or later. A larger port had to be built in order to accommodate more and more ships.
There were several locations nearby that were more suitable for the construction of a port. These locations were all suitable for the construction of a large-scale port, but Li An needed to make a careful comparison to determine which one was the most advantageous.
Some locations had better conditions, so they could reduce the cost of construction to the greatest extent. Some locations had larger water areas, so they could accommodate more ships. There were also locations that were close to the old port of Aden City, so they had a geographical advantage.
In short, all of the locations provided by his subordinates to Ang Lee had their advantages and disadvantages. In the end, it was up to Ang Lee to make the final decision on which port to build.
Ang Lee also found it difficult to make a final decision after looking through the information provided by these ports. After all, each of these ports had their own advantages and disadvantages, and it was indeed difficult to make a decision.
It was clearly impossible to build all of these locations into ports. Even if he had to build all of them, there had to be a sequence. At the very least, he had to build them one by one, and the first to be built had to be the best port.
When he couldn't make up his mind, Ang Lee would choose to discuss it with his subordinates. After all, three stooges were better than one Zhuge Liang. Furthermore, his subordinates were all officials of the Tang dynasty, not stooges.
"There are more than a dozen suitable ports. This is really difficult for me. Which one should I choose? Do any of you have any opinions? Tell me! "
Ang Lee kicked the ball to his subordinates. He wanted them to make a decision.
"Assistant Minister Li, since there will be more and more ships in the future, why don't we build it at the largest port? The water area here is large enough to build a port ten times larger than the current one. "
One of his subordinates suggested.
"No, the port hasn't been used up yet. There's no need to build such a large port all of a sudden. Although this place is large enough, the water is too shallow. The cost of building a port is too high. It won't be easy to raise so much money from the City of Aden! If we force a large amount of money, the merchants of the City of Aden will be displeased. It's also inappropriate to ask the court for money. Why don't we choose the best port? The construction cost is relatively low, and we'll be able to easily obtain the funds needed. "
Another subordinate suggested.
"This is a good place, but it's too far away from the original port of Aden City. If it's built, it won't be the port of Aden City anymore. It won't be able to do much for the prosperity of Aden City, so it's more reasonable to choose this place near the original port. In that case, we can expand the city walls a little so that the new port can be located in the same city as the original port. As for the other places, we can build a new city there to form a sister city with Aden City when the city can no longer accommodate them."
Another subordinate offered a different opinion.
After hearing the answers of his subordinates, Li An pondered for a long while before coming to the conclusion that the last subordinate had a point. Since there was only one city nearby, the new port had to be built as close to Aden as possible in order to maximize its potential. Also, it would be easier for them to gather the necessary resources from Aden City, thereby allowing them to complete the construction of the port as quickly as possible. Also, the cost of construction would also be kept to a very low level.
"That's it! Let's choose the location closest to the port of the City of Aden! That way, it'll be easier to manage. Go and make arrangements. Recruit craftsmen as soon as possible. It's best if we can start construction right away. Go! "
Ang Lee instructed.
His subordinates split up and went to make preparations. The construction of the port cost a lot of money, but Ang Lee had a lot of money on hand. He still had a lot of money left over from robbing pirates and doing business, which was enough to support the current scale of construction. Once he took over the City of Aden, he would be able to obtain a lot of tax revenue, which would be enough to cover the cost of the construction of the port.
After the construction of the port was completed, the Tang Dynasty fleet would be able to move to the new port and make more space for business in the old port.
In the royal city of Khorasan, the newly appointed Caliph Mansur was in a very bad mood. In fact, he was on the verge of a mental breakdown.
In order to stabilize his kingdom, he had sent Abu Muslim to lead almost all of his elite soldiers to the north to encircle Abdullah. But to his surprise, Osman and Altik had suddenly joined forces and swallowed ten-some Apus Dynasty cities in one fell swoop. Moreover, they were rapidly advancing north, and at their current speed, they would soon occupy the entire peninsula.
Mansur had stationed very few soldiers on the peninsula, not even thirty thousand in total. Among them, the ten thousand Khorasan cavalry had already been wiped out, and the remaining soldiers were scattered across the various cities. Moreover, none of them were elite soldiers, so they would find it very difficult to resist the combined forces of Osman and Altik. And what terrified Mansur the most was that these two had the support of the Tang Empire. This made the situation even more complicated.
Mansur didn't have many soldiers at his disposal, as he had transferred most of his soldiers to Abu Muslim. His main army was in the north, and the few tens of thousands of soldiers he had left behind to protect the royal city and Khorasan. He could not easily transfer them away, as losing the Khorasan would only make the situation even worse.
"What's the situation with Abu Muslim? Has he still not taken Abdullah's base?"
Mansur roared in exasperation.
"Caliph, the front lines have sent word that Abdullah is holed up in his base. He has half a year's worth of provisions, and the losses from a full-scale assault are too great. General Abu Muslim has already given up on the assault and decided to use the strategy of encirclement. After half a year of encirclement, Abdullah will starve to death, and we will win without even fighting."
A subordinate at his side said.
Mansur angrily retorted, "Half a year? How could I give him half a year? Osman and Altik, those two bastards, have the support of the Tang Empire and are already rebelling in the south. It won't be long before they take over the entire fertile peninsula and even push into the Khorasan. We can't wait any longer. We must have Abu Muslim return as quickly as possible and destroy Osman and Altik in the south. Let Abdullah live a little longer!"
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