I want to be emperor

Chapter 34 Gentry and Officers and Soldiers

With the arrival of Blacksmith Song, Sun Jiancheng and Luo Zhixue had great expectations for the construction of artillery and even the establishment of an elite artillery unit.

However, it takes time to make a cannon. According to Song Blacksmith, 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. Don't be in a hurry, 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 cannons.

Many processes need to be solved one by one. Even if everything goes well and there are no problems encountered in the process, it will take at least two months before the cannon can be seen.

This can't be rushed.

Luo Zhixue didn't urge Blacksmith Song either, but let Blacksmith Song take his two sons to toss around. He also recruited more than a dozen prisoners from the prisoner-of-war camp to work for them as ordinary labor.

However, Song Tiejiang and the others hadn't had time to actually get to work, Luo Zhixue just 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 purchase process, and Wang Xiazi was forced to lead the crowd to fight in self-defense.

This battle most likely attracted the attention of the local government.

Sure enough, Blind Wang's worry was not unreasonable. Just two days later, Blind Wang sent someone to report that the sentries had discovered that officers and soldiers had gone to Lijiazhuang to investigate, and that many sentries had already appeared outside Funiu Mountain. , is inquiring about the news of their cavalry.

Obviously, the officers and soldiers have already discovered that this cavalry came from the Funiu Mountain area, and they are now further inquiring about their related news.

"I didn't expect that I just sent people out to buy some supplies. I didn't steal or rob them. I even met people like the Li family. Now I can be targeted by officers and soldiers..." Sun Chengli learned of this After the news, he sighed.

"Brother Luo, I'm afraid we won't be able to recuperate in a low-key manner 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 our Sanshui Village."

Luo Zhixue was also a little speechless at this time!
Before Blind Wang set off, he repeatedly told him to keep a low profile, and Blind Wang did act in a low-key manner, so low-key that even the Li family saw it and wanted to rob it directly...

Usually, it was Blind Wang and the others who robbed others, but this time they were so low-key that they were robbed by others...

Is it impermanence?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 whether our Sanshui Village has been exposed for the time being. The officers and soldiers may find our Sanshui Village, or they may not, but no matter what we have to prepare in advance .”

"Now it is necessary to send sentries to pay close attention to the movements of the 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 as soon as possible and then make decisions."

"If there are not many incoming officers and soldiers, then we will rely on the complex terrain in the mountains to conduct a few ambushes and stop them."

"If there are too many officers and soldiers coming, then we should prepare early."

"However, even if the officers and soldiers are coming aggressively, we will have to delay them for a while."

As he said that, Luo Zhixue said in a serious tone: "The harvest of autumn grain is coming soon, we need this batch of grain!"

Listening to Luo Zhixue's words, Sun Chengli nodded frequently.

Brother Luo is still as he expected. Even in the current crisis, he still has a clear mind and knows where the key points are.

They stayed here for several months, for what?
Is it just new recruits?
Not!
These days, as long as he is given a bite to eat, many people outside are willing to serve his Sun Chengli as a soldier. Even if he is an anti-bandit soldier, his Sun Chengli does not have to recruit recruits in the Funiu Mountain area.

They've been here for months for food!

Not only the grain that Sanshui Village cultivated by itself, but also the grain from the villages near Sanshui Village.

According to their planned plan, they will start collecting grain from the surrounding villages after the autumn harvest.

Only when the food is collected and there is enough food in hand can they feed their current hundreds of people and support the follow-up military expansion plan finalized by Sun Jiancheng and Luo Zhixue.

Therefore, this grain cannot be thrown away.

Sun Chengli said: "It's only a few days before the autumn harvest, brother Luo, you have to keep an eye on it, and harvest the grain as soon as it is ripe."

"In addition, formulate the grain collection rules and make preparations in advance. After the autumn harvest, send people to the surrounding villages to collect grain as soon as possible!"

"At the weapons workshop, although the artillery issue is important, we must pay close attention to it, but the most urgent task now is to let them make a batch of arrows, swords, spears, and armor. Although we still have some weapons in our inventory, we have recruited more and more soldiers recently. There are still some gaps in the weapons."

"Especially the arrows for making arrows. Although we have a lot of stocks now, bows and arrows are our housekeeping skills and life-saving guys. It is also easy to ambush in the mountains. When the time comes, bows and arrows will be used more, 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 Chengli said: "If the officers and soldiers come to attack, I will do everything possible to delay the pace of the officers and soldiers entering the mountain, and I will leave the various chores at home to Brother Luo!"

Luo Zhixue looked serious: "General, don't worry, if you are willing to learn, no matter whether it is weapons or food, there will be no mistakes."

Sun Chengli nodded slightly: "Okay, this time we brothers are of the same heart, and we have passed this hurdle. As long as we pass this hurdle, it will be easy to handle later."

Luo Zhixue responded to Sun Chengli's series of orders.

Just when Sun Jiancheng and Luo Zhixue felt 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 for military supplies. When they recruited food, they would naturally encounter some recalcitrant elements.

The officers and soldiers will also give a thunderous blow on behalf of the court, directly destroying the family and stealing all the food.

When the food was called for, the local young and strong were also forcibly recruited to transport supplies for the people.

When recruiting food and civilian husbands, the officers and soldiers will not forget to make a small fortune for themselves. Although these poor and lowly people are poor, but if they search carefully, they can find some copper coins and the like.

In fact, nothing has been snatched, at least there are still women.

They put their heads on the waistbands of their trousers, fought for the court, and fought for the officials and lords. They occasionally snatched a woman to have fun and refused to let it go.

For a while, the village screamed again and again. Although it is not known how many people were killed by the officers and soldiers on this day, and how many women were defiled by the officers and soldiers, there were at least a dozen houses that were set on fire.

While the officers and soldiers outside were collecting food and looting, the Song Family Manor near the village was a scene of peace and tranquility.

Song Pinghe, the head of the Song family, is receiving 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, and he was in charge of nearly [-] officers and soldiers.

but!

He, Song Pinghe, is a member of the Ming Dynasty, not to mention that his teachers and friends are all scholars, his cousin is even a Jinshi, and now he is an official in the household department of the capital.

Moreover, his Song family has been farming and studying biography for more than 200 years, and many of his ancestors have become officials. After [-] years of accumulation, he has [-] mu of fertile land and countless other businesses.

There are hundreds of servants in the Song family's old house alone.

This kind of aristocratic family background gave him enough courage to face Huang Guangmao, a mere capital who came from a mud-legged background and came up through brutal fighting all the way.

Being able to prepare a cup of tea for Huang Guangmao was due to the letter from Wen Xiangwen, the magistrate of Ruzhou, held by Huang Guangmao.

If Huang Guangmao didn't have Wen Xiangwen's letter in hand, even if he had an order from Chen Zhibang asking him to suppress the bandits and recruit military supplies along the way, Huang Guangmao wouldn't bother to talk to him.

Huang Guangmao is just a mud leg, even Chen Zhibang is just a rough martial artist, Huang Guangmao doesn't bother to make friends with such people in daily life.

It really pissed him off, sending a letter directly to his cousin who was an official in the capital would make Chen Zhibang unable to bear it all.

Huang Guangmao naturally felt Song Pinghe's indifference, but he still bit the bullet and said, "Mr. Song, look at the military supplies..."

As he spoke, he pointed to the two letters on the table. One was Chen Zhibang's request to the gentry and merchants in Lushan to donate military supplies to Funiu Mountain to suppress bandits, and the other was Wen Xiangwen, the magistrate. The personal letter to Song Pinghe also said this, and hoped that the Song family would put their family and country first and actively donate military supplies for military supplies.

Song Pinghe had read this letter before, but he didn't say anything at that time, he just said: drink tea!

Now that Huang Guangmao took the initiative to mention it again, Song Pinghe said calmly: "Nowadays, there have been years of disasters and thieves, and there is very little production in this field. The hundreds of members of my Song family are now just relying on the old grain to maintain their livelihood. Because there is not much old food, the hundreds of members of my Song family have already cut down on food and clothing, and even I can only eat porridge twice a day, and this food is really not much."

"However, General Huang led the soldiers to suppress bandits. This is a feat of defending the country and the village. Although we gentry are unable to help in the battle, we are also duty-bound to supply military supplies."

As he said that, he said to the old housekeeper standing on one side: "Third Uncle, three hundred catties of grain, one chicken and one duck, five catties of bacon, one jar of wine, one piece of cloth for General Huang to take from the storeroom." Walk!"

As he said that, Song Pinghe sighed again: "Although this will make the life of my Song family more difficult in the future, but to share the worries of the court, we, the gentry, have a duty to do so. Let us eat one less meal later, and drink a few more bowls when we are hungry. The water has also boiled over..."

(End of this chapter)