After the river course was clearly investigated, Fang Er felt more confident.
The rest was the construction of the dock.
Fang Er had not been idle during these three days of river investigation.
He had drawn up the blueprints for the dock.
The design was a total of 150 meters wide and 200 meters long, divided into three docks, capable of building three five-toothed warships simultaneously.
To ensure the ability to build larger ships in the future, each dock was 30 meters wide and 100 meters long.
The dock body was sunk 4 meters below ground, and the entire surface above and below was reinforced with cement.
The dock gates were to be made of fine steel gates, which would be closed during shipbuilding.
Once the ship was completed, the gates would be opened, and the Ba River water would be channeled into the dock to float the ship.
Then, it would be directly towed into the Ba River.
When it was to be used again, the gates would be closed, and the water in the dock would be drained.
This was a massive undertaking, and the farmers of Fang Family Village were incredibly excited to hear about the work!
Moreover, there was not much work in the fields during this period, so upon receiving Fang Er's summons, almost everyone turned out.
And not just Fang Family Village; the surrounding villages also joined in after receiving permission.
Four to five thousand laborers gathered on the thirty thousand square meter construction site!
Li Shun was stunned when he received the notice to oversee the work!
This scene was even larger than when the King of Hejian was here!
After handing over the matters here to Li Shun, Fang Er returned to the workshop.
Liu Ji had already delivered the first batch of fabric, a total of two thousand bolts.
The pickup truck was parked in front of the sewing room.
Hearing the sound of the vehicle, Hua Niang came out from inside.
"Marquis, the fabric has arrived. Should we start production now?"
"Let's go take a look."
Fang Er got out of the pickup truck and walked inside, finding even more people than before.
Hua Niang explained from behind.
"More than ten sewing machines are being added daily. With only the original dozens of people, it's hard to keep up. So, I've found more sisters from the village who know how to make clothes."
Seeing the neatly arranged sewing machines, Fang Er nodded.
"It's fine, more people are better. Let's begin."
Hua Niang's face lit up, and she stepped forward, loudly addressing the women inside.
"The Marquis has ordered it, start work!"
Instantly, including the people already there, over two hundred women began to busily work.
The military uniforms had already been made into wooden templates, divided into three sizes: large, medium, and small.
The entire bolt of cloth was unrolled.
The wooden templates were placed on top, traced with a pencil, and then passed to the next station for cutting.
The sewing machine operators were already preparing. As soon as the cut fabric pieces were in their hands, they began sewing.
Baskets of buttons were already piled in the corner.
Although these colorful glass buttons were attractive, no one dared to steal them.
Hua Niang had stated earlier that anyone who dared to steal even one button would not only have their entire family expelled from the village but would also be reported to the authorities for prosecution.
The treatment at Fang Family Village was now something to be envied throughout Wannian County.
No one wanted to be driven away. The adults might not care, but for the sake of their children's education, no one dared to entertain such a thought.
The sewn clothes had buttons attached and were handed over to the final group of people.
Sharp knives cut buttonholes on the marked clothes.
The entire workshop was accustomed to assembly-line work.
Despite the large number of people, there was no disorder.
In less than an hour, the first uniform was handed to Fang Er.
Carrying the military uniform, Fang Er returned to his studio.
There were still some things missing from this uniform.
Rank insignia.
The uniforms were all of the same style, making it impossible to distinguish them, so rank insignia was the best solution.
In later generations, Velcro was used, but due to material limitations, it couldn't be made now.
Fang Er made two small iron plates, each inlaid with a brass spread-winged eagle.
This one was for Cheng Yaojin, the only one of its kind in the entire Yangwei Army.
It represented the supreme commander.
The rest were directly copied from later generations' regulations, only with different titles.
Later generations had nineteen levels of military rank.
The Great Tang had twelve military achievements.
From bottom to top, they were:
Wu, Yun, Fei, and Xiao, the four levels of Cavalry Lieutenant.
Riding Lieutenant, Upper Riding Lieutenant, Light Chariot Lieutenant, Upper Light Chariot Lieutenant, the four levels of Duwei.
Above these were Guard Army, Upper Guard Army, Pillar State, and Upper Pillar State.
Broadly speaking, the meanings were the same.
The four levels of Cavalry Lieutenant had one to four bronze stars.
The four levels of Duwei had one stripe and one star to one stripe and four stars.
Guard Army, Upper Guard Army, Pillar State, and Upper Pillar State corresponded to two stripes and one star to four stars.
This was the method for distinguishing military rank grades.
The supreme commander Cheng Yaojin's eagle epaulet represented the entire army.
After preparing the epaulets, there were also belts and holsters.
How could classic military uniforms be without these?
With all these prepared, Fang Er drove directly to the imperial palace.
He got out of the car carrying the items.
He took out a piece of broken silver from his pocket and threw it to the imperial guards at Chengtian Gate.
"Here, have a drink. This Marquis needs to see the Emperor. Inform him, and find another brother to call the Duke of Lu over."
The guards at the gate happily accepted the silver.
"Marquis, please wait. I will arrange it now."
Not long after, he received the summons.
In the Liangji Hall, Li Shimin sat behind his imperial desk, looking up at Fang Er.
"Something wrong?"
Fang Er handed the uniform to a nearby eunuch.
"Your Majesty, the Yangwei Army uniforms have begun production. This is the first one. I brought it for you to inspect."
Li Shimin looked at the blue uniform in his hand and gestured to the eunuch.
The eunuch quickly brought it over.
When the uniform was opened, it was very different from the uniforms of the past.
The separate top and bottom design, as well as the pockets on the clothing, greatly surprised him.
"Kid, this uniform is very novel."
Fang Er said with a smile.
"Your Majesty, this uniform is for the Duke of Lu. I've already sent someone to call him. After he comes and puts it on, I will explain it to you. There is also something I need Your Majesty's help with now."
Li Shimin raised his eyebrows.
"Speak."
Fang Er said, "Please Your Majesty write four characters, 'Da Tang Yang Wei' (Great Tang's Victorious Might), each character the size of a palm."
Li Shimin stared at him for a moment without speaking.
He directly took a piece of paper from his imperial desk, picked up his brush, and wrote the four characters in one go.
"Here, I want to see what you intend to do with these four characters."
Fang Er did not answer him, but instead looked at the eunuch beside him.
"Please, Eunuch, go get a piece of silk, two candles, and some white paint."
The eunuch first looked at Li Shimin. Upon receiving permission, he left the Liangji Hall.
In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the eunuch returned with two young eunuchs.
"Marquis of Liaodong, we have brought what you requested."
Fang Er nodded, took the items, and placed them on the ground.
He picked up the piece of silk and examined it. "It should work."
The wooden frame he brought was double-layered.
He opened it, placed the silk in the middle, tightened it, and then closed the wooden frame.
Afterward, he removed the excess silk from the outside of the wooden frame.