With the arrival of Blacksmith Song, Sun Chengli and Luo Zhixue had great expectations for building artillery and even establishing an elite artillery force.
However, making cannons also takes time. According to Blacksmith Song, if you want to make a cannon, you must first carve a wooden mold, then make a clay mold based on the wooden mold, and then wait for the clay mold to dry naturally. This is just drying Don't rush the steps, even if it takes a month before and after the weather is good, you can wait until then to pour molten iron for casting.
At the same time, they also need to build a larger iron furnace and matching bellows to meet the needs of pouring the artillery.
Many processes need to be solved one by one. Even if everything goes well and no problems are encountered along the way, it will take at least two months before the cannon can be seen.
This matter cannot be rushed.
Luo Zhixue did not rush Blacksmith Song, but let Blacksmith Song take his two sons to do the hard work. He also transferred more than a dozen prisoners of war from the prisoner of war camp to help them and act as ordinary labor force.
However, before Song Tiejiang and the others had time to actually start working, Luo Zhixue got some bad news.
Wang Xiazi from outside the mountain sent a fast horse back to Sanshui Village to report that he was attacked by Lijiazhuang during the purchasing process, and Wang Xiazi was forced to lead everyone in self-defense.
This battle most likely attracted the attention of local officials.
Sure enough, Wang Xiazi's worry was not unreasonable. Just two days later, Wang Xiazi sent someone to report again, saying that sentinels had discovered that officers and soldiers had gone to Lijiazhuang for investigation, and that many officers, soldiers and sentries had appeared outside Funiu Mountain. , are inquiring about the news about their cavalry.
Obviously, the officers and soldiers have discovered that this cavalry comes from the Funiu Mountain area, and are now inquiring about further information about them.
"I didn't expect that I just sent people out to purchase some supplies. I didn't steal or rob them. I actually met people like the Li family. What I did was now being targeted by the officers and soldiers..." Sun Chengli learned this. After hearing the news, he sighed.
"Brother Luo, I'm afraid we won't be able to keep a low profile and recuperate here."
"Although the officers and soldiers haven't come here for a while, they have already found Funiu Mountain. It will be a matter of time before they find us in Sanshui Village."
Luo Zhixue was also a little speechless at this time!
Before Blind Wang set out, he repeatedly told Blind Wang to keep a low profile, and Blind Wang indeed kept a low profile, so low-key that even the Li family saw it and wanted to rob it directly...
Usually, it's Blind Wang and the others who rob others, but this time they were so low-key that they were robbed by others...
Is the world impermanent? Or are there too many greedy people?
But now is not the time to sigh. Luo Zhixue thought carefully and said: "We don't know yet whether our Sanshui Village has been exposed. The officers and soldiers may find our Sanshui Village, or they may not, but no matter what, we must be prepared in advance." ."
"Now we need to send out sentries to pay close attention to the movements of officers and soldiers in Lushan County, and at the same time monitor the passages in and out of the mountains. Once the officers and soldiers move, we must know immediately and make decisions."
"If there are not many incoming officers and soldiers, then we will rely on the complex terrain in the mountains to stage a few ambushes to stop them."
"If there are too many officers and soldiers coming, we must prepare in advance."
"However, even if the officers and soldiers come in force, we must delay them for a while when the time comes."
With that said, Luo Zhixue said in a serious tone: "The autumn grain harvest is coming soon, we need this batch of grain!"
Sun Chengli nodded frequently when listening to Luo Zhixue's words.
Brother Luo is still as he expected. Even if he encounters the current crisis, he still has a clear mind and knows where the key points are.
They've been here for months, and why?
Are they just new recruits?
Not really!
These days, as long as they have a bite to eat, there are many people outside who are willing to serve as soldiers for Sun Chengli. Even if they are rebel soldiers, Sun Chengli does not have to recruit new soldiers in the Funiu Mountain area.
They stayed here for months for food!
Not only the food cultivated by Sanshui Village itself, but also the food from the villages near Sanshui Village.
According to their planned plan, they will start collecting grain from surrounding villages after the autumn harvest.
Only by collecting the food and having enough food on hand can they feed their current several hundred people and support the follow-up army expansion plan finalized by Sun Lili and Luo Zhixue.
Therefore, this food cannot be thrown away.
Sun Chengli said: "The autumn harvest is only a few days away. Brother Luo, you have to keep an eye on it and harvest it as soon as the grain is ripe."
"In addition, formulate detailed rules for collecting grains and prepare in advance. After the autumn harvest, we will send people to surrounding villages to collect grains as soon as possible!"
"At the weapons workshop, although the issue of artillery is important and must be grasped urgently, the top priority now is to let them build a batch of arrows, swords, spears, and armor. Although we still have some weapons in the inventory, we have recently recruited more and more soldiers. There are still some gaps in the weapons.”
"Especially arrowheads for making arrows. Although we have a lot of them in stock now, bows and arrows are our specialty and life-savers. It is also easy to lay ambushes in the mountains. There will be more bows and arrows used in the future, so this No amount of arrows is too many."
"Tomorrow, I will take people to the edge of the mountain to meet the blind man just in case."
Speaking of this, Sun Lili said: "If the officers and soldiers come to attack, I will do everything possible to delay the officers and soldiers from entering the mountain. I will leave many chores at home to Brother Luo!"
Luo Zhixue looked serious: "General, don't worry, Zhixue is here. No matter whether it's weapons or food, nothing will go wrong."
Sun Chengcheng nodded slightly: "Okay, this time we brothers work together to overcome this level. As long as we overcome this level, the rest will be easier to handle."
Sun Chengli gave a series of instructions, and Luo Zhixue responded to them one by one.
Just when Sun Chengli and Luo Zhixue sensed the crisis and began to prepare countermeasures in advance, hundreds of officers and soldiers also came to a village more than ten miles east of Funiu Mountain.
After this group of officers and soldiers arrived, they immediately recruited food from the local area to prepare military supplies. Naturally, they would also encounter some stubborn resisters when recruiting food.
The officers and soldiers would also give a thunderous blow on behalf of the court, destroying families and stealing all the food.
When recruiting grain, local young men were also forcibly recruited to transport baggage for the people.
When recruiting grain and civilian labor, the officers and soldiers would not forget to make a little fortune for themselves. Although these poor and humble people were poor, if they searched carefully, they could find some coins.
I really didn’t get anything, at least there were still women.
They put their heads in their belts and work hard to fight for the court and the officials, but they don't want to give up a woman's pleasure once in a while.
For a time, the village screamed again and again. Although it is unknown how many people died tragically at the hands of officers and soldiers and how many women were defiled by officers and soldiers on this day, at least a dozen houses were set on fire.
While the officers and soldiers outside were collecting grain and looting, there was a peaceful and peaceful scene in the Song family manor near the village.
Song Pinghe, the head of the Song family, is entertaining guests.
However, during the conversation, Song Pinghe was not too polite to this guest, even though the Huang Guangmao in front of him was a captain with nearly 300 officers and soldiers in charge.
but!
He, Song Pinghe, was a member of the Ming Dynasty. His teachers and friends were all scholars. His cousin was a Jinshi and was now an official in the household department of the capital.
Moreover, his Song family has been farming and reading for more than two hundred years. Many of his ancestors have served as officials. After two hundred years of accumulation, they have thousands of acres of fertile land and countless other shops and other industries.
There are hundreds of slaves in the Song family's old house alone.
This kind of family background gave him enough courage to fight against a mere Dusi who came from a humble background like Huang Guangmao and relied on his brutal fighting.
Being able to prepare a cup of tea for Huang Guangmao was because Huang Guangmao held a letter from Wen Xiang, the magistrate of Ruzhou.
If Huang Guangmao didn't have Wen Xiangwen's letter in hand, even if he had Chen Zhibang's order document asking him to suppress bandits and recruit military supplies along the way, Huang Guangmao would not bother to pay attention to him.
Huang Guangmao was just a mud-legged guy, and even Chen Zhibang was just a crude martial artist. Huang Guangmao didn't bother to make friends with such a person on a daily basis.
It really pissed him off. Even sending a letter directly to his cousin who was an official in the capital would make Chen Zhibang miserable.
Huang Guangmao naturally felt Song Pinghe's indifference, but he still said bravely: "Mr. Song, look at the military supplies..."
As he spoke, he pointed to the two letters placed on the table. One was a letter from Chen Zhibang asking the gentry and merchants in Lushan to actively donate military supplies to go to Funiu Mountain to suppress the bandits, and the other was a letter from Zhizhou Wen Xiangwen. A personal letter to Song Pinghe also mentioned the same thing, hoping that the Song family would put their family and country first and actively donate military supplies for military needs.
Song Pinghe had read this letter before, but he didn't say anything at that time. He just said: Drink tea!
Now hearing Huang Guangmao take the initiative to mention it again, Song Pinghe said calmly: "Now that there are continuous disasters and bandits, the fields produce very little, and the hundreds of members of my Song family are just relying on old grains to make ends meet. Because there is not much old food, the hundreds of people in my Song family have already lived frugally, and even I can only afford two meals of porridge a day. This food is really not much."
"However, General Huang led his soldiers to suppress the thieves. This was a feat of protecting our country and the countryside. Although we, the gentry, are unable to go to the battle to help, we still have the duty to supply military supplies."
As he spoke, he said to the old housekeeper standing on one side: "Third uncle, bring three hundred kilograms of grain from the warehouse, one chicken and duck each, five kilograms of bacon, a jar of wine, and a piece of cloth for General Huang to bring. Walk!"
After saying that, Song Pinghe sighed again and said: "Although this will make the future life of my Song family more difficult, but to share the worries of the court, I and other gentry have no shirking duty. Let us eat one less meal later and drink more bowls when we are hungry." The water just got through it..."
