The rise of the poor

Chapter 1982 Departure to Shaoxing
The next day, early in the morning, just as the sky was getting light, Zhu Ping'an helped Li Shu get on the carriage, preparing to set off for Shaoxing to take up his post.

The carriage that Zhu Ping'an and Li Shu were riding in was a large carriage pulled by two horses. On the carriage were Zhu Ping'an, Li Shu, Hua'er and Qin'er.

Following behind were seven ordinary carriages pulled by one horse, in which sat Aunt Wang and some old maids and servants. The convoy was escorted by three hundred Zhejiang army cavalrymen including Liu Dadao to protect the safety of Zhu Ping'an and his entourage.

As for the other servants and slaves in the mansion, they had been divided into two groups and sent to Shaoxing a few days ago to prepare the new home, install floor heating, heating and furniture, so that Zhu Ping'an and his party could move into the new home directly after arriving in Shaoxing.

In order to make Li Shu, a pregnant woman, ride comfortably during the journey, Zhu Ping'an spent a lot of time on the carriage.

First, Zhu Ping'an had the wheels of the carriage tightly wrapped with two layers of cowhide to act as rubber tires to reduce bumps.

Secondly, Zhu Ping'an also asked Ou Zhige, a firearms craftsman from the Zhejiang Army Equipment Battalion, to make a few thicker copper springs.

Ou Zhige has achieved initial results in his research on flintlock rifles. He has initially made a usable spring purely by hand. Combining the flintlock ideas provided by Zhu Ping'an, he has made two flintlock samples using springs and flint.

I demonstrated it to Zhu Ping'an a few days ago, but the effect was not very ideal. The firing rate of the flintlock was only about 60%, and the loading was as troublesome as the matchlock. You had to stand the flintlock upright first, then pour gunpowder and bullets from the muzzle in turn, tamp them down with a stick, pour primer into the gunpowder pool at the tail of the flintlock, move the hammer backwards, and finally pull the trigger to fire the bullet.

After studying Ou Zhige's flintlock, Zhu Ping'an discovered the problem: the flintlock cover of the flintlock developed by Ou Zhige was flat.

When the trigger of the flintlock is pulled, the hammer strikes the flint on the flint cap, creating sparks that ignite the gunpowder and fire the projectile.

The flint cover is too flat, the friction is insufficient, and the success rate and amount of sparks produced by striking the flint are insufficient.

Zhu Ping'an suggested to Ou Zhige that he should design the flint cover to be uneven in order to increase the firing rate of the flint.

As for reloading, Zhu Pingan suggested whether it could be reloaded from behind. Ou Zhige said he had studied reloading from behind, and airtightness was a big problem. He was also studying how to improve airtightness so that the flintlock could be reloaded from behind and increase the reloading speed.

Although the flintlock rifle is still under research, Ou Zhige has already achieved a considerable level of success in making springs.

Zhu Ping'an used public property for personal gain and asked Ou Zhige to make several larger copper springs and install them between the body and axle of the carriage. In simple terms, he added suspension to reduce shock and make the carriage more comfortable to ride.

In addition, Hua'er and Qin'er also laid mattresses, mink blankets, and soft cushions in the carriage, making it warm and comfortable.

"Well, it actually works. It's much more stable and comfortable than usual riding in a carriage, and it doesn't shake so much. I didn't expect that a small spring could have such a big effect." Li Shu sat in the carriage, snuggling in Zhu Ping'an's arms, feeling the good riding experience of the carriage, and said with squinting crescent-shaped eyes.

"It can also play a greater role. It can make firearms more powerful, invincible, and change the battlefield dramatically."

Zhu Ping'an thought about the scene when the flintlock rifles were equipped in the Zhejiang Army in the future, and could not help but speak with anticipation and emotion.

With the flintlock rifle in service, we no longer have to worry about rain. The matchlock rifle is basically useless on rainy days, but the flintlock rifle is not afraid of rain. The flintlock rifle allows us to fire anytime and anywhere, and its efficiency and accuracy can be greatly improved.

"I am a humble woman. I cannot manage military and national affairs. I only care about food, clothing, housing and transportation. When I am out of confinement, I will send someone to the capital to open a carriage and horse business. Such a comfortable carriage will surely be well received by those dignitaries and wealthy gentry. I will definitely make a lot of money and save more for these two little guys."

Li Shu touched her belly with her delicate hand, thinking of the scene in the future when a horse-drawn carriage equipped with springs would sweep across the capital, and she smiled like a little fox with her eyes narrowed.

Zhu Ping'an couldn't help but chuckle and shook his head. Li Shu's sense of capturing business opportunities was simply amazing, unrivaled in the world and rarely rivaled.

It hasn’t been long since the last heating device was installed, but I heard that it has already spread to the backyards of the residences of high-ranking officials in the capital.

Judging from the more and more account books Li Shu looked through, the heating equipment had made her a lot of money.

Hua'er and Qin'er were in the car, cutting the fruit into small pieces on the small table so that Li Shu could eat them with toothpicks.

After the carriage drove out of Zhu's house, it stopped after only going one street.

"Dadao, what happened? Why did you stop?" Zhu Ping'an lifted the door curtain and asked outside the car.

"Young master, Prefect Shang and his entourage are here to see you off." Liu Dadao said with a fist salute.

As soon as Liu Dadao finished speaking, Zhu Pingan heard the breathless voice of Zhao Zhifu coming from behind him, "Minister Zhu, please stay, please stay."

Zhu Ping'an turned his head and saw the Suzhou prefect Shang Weizhi and his officials who had dismounted from their horses and were trotting towards him.

Seeing Prefect Shang jogging over, Zhu Ping'an hurriedly got off the carriage and walked towards Prefect Shang.

"Zhu Butang, why are you in such a hurry to go to Shaoxing to take up your post? We are planning to hold a farewell banquet for you."

Shang Wei trotted over and said breathlessly.

In ancient times, the six ministers and the left and right assistant ministers were all called "butang", which was a special title for the top leaders of the six ministries. After Zhu Ping'an became the right assistant minister of the Ministry of War, he was also qualified to be called "butang".

"What minister? Lord Shang, just call me Zihou." Zhu Ping'an bowed and said with a wry smile.

"Haha, in the past I could still be so arrogant as to call Zhu Butang Zihou, but now I can't do that anymore. You are already the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War and the Governor of Zhejiang. It would be impolite to call you Zihou again." Shang Wei smiled and shook his head.

"Haha, Lord Shang, others can't be called that, but you can? If it weren't for Lord Shang's strong support and close cooperation, how could Ping An be qualified to serve as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War and Governor of Zhejiang?" Zhu Ping'an smiled and shook his head.

"Okay, okay, then I will rely on my old face and call you Zihou, Zhu Butang, in informal occasions. Of course, I still have to call you Lord Butang in formal occasions."

Shang Wei stroked his beard and said with a smile.

"Zihou, you left in such a hurry that you didn't even give us a chance to see you off. If I hadn't just received the news, I would have missed the chance to see you off." Shang Wei complained in a joking tone.

"My wife is about to give birth, so we are in a hurry to go to Shaoxing to settle down." Zhu Ping'an briefly explained the reason to Shang Weiwei.

"I see. No wonder Zihou called for us to hurry on our journey." Shang Weishi nodded, and understood why Zhu Ping'an was in such a hurry to go to Shaoxing.

(End of this chapter)