Chapter 1451
Siege, Uniting the Power of Craftsmen
Chapter 1451 Siege, Uniting the Power of Craftsmen
The Wei people inside the city, upon hearing the shouts, were sometimes extremely nervous, sometimes full of fighting spirit—in short, it was quite a mixed experience.
But every household followed the military orders.
Each neighborhood had a local official who led a patrol team composed of villagers, who would beat gongs and shout instructions on how to fight off enemies and prevent plagues.
"If you hear a strange noise like something falling in your yard, don't go out to check. Wait until half an hour has passed and the dust and smoke from the falling object have subsided before opening a small crack in the window to check... If there is a package in your yard, immediately ring a bell and bang on pots and pans to make a big commotion. The patrol team will hear it and report it to the authorities. The government troops will then send assassins to destroy it!"
The King of Ye recruited a group of poor, elderly men by offering them gold, silver, treasures, or land...
Unfilial?
Is there any harm or injury?
But the old man felt that it would be more hurtful to let young people die.
The old folks are at least old enough to die, and they still get paid and have military merits to leave to their descendants, so they are willing to do this kind of work.
"Received, received. I definitely won't be stupid enough to touch the poisoned package!"
The households that heard the ward officials and patrol teams shouting all responded with the same sentence.
Upon hearing this, the local officials and patrol teams felt much more at ease and reassured the people, saying, "Don't be afraid. The plague is fair to everyone. The enemy only has one life. If they get the plague, they will die too!"
You know what, that was quite inspiring. The neighbors chimed in, "Yes, the enemy soldiers are made of flesh and blood too. They'll die if they get the plague!"
The ward official and the patrol team of civilians smiled and continued running towards other streets and alleys in their jurisdiction, shouting their orders all the way; when they reached the end of their jurisdiction and turned back, they shouted their orders again.
Today, the Mushan Weapon Workshop also lit up dozens or even hundreds of lights and sent people to keep an eye on the sky to prevent the enemy from releasing poison sacs into the city under the cover of night.
To prevent enemy troops from attacking the city and poisoning it, the mountainous area within a mile of the city wall has been cordoned off with ropes.
That large mountainous area is off-limits to everyone.
Clang!
Clang!
Near the main gate of Mushan, the deafening sound of iron smelting could be heard coming from a row of houses to the left of the second sentry post.
Master craftsman Cui, Grandpa Qin, veteran craftsmen skilled in casting weapons from the army, all-around imperial guards personally trained by the Wei royal family, and Commander Chu personally oversaw the project here, all for the purpose of forging the iron tubular cart.
"No, the density isn't enough. Keep burning and hammering it until the iron is as thick and fine as the finest ink stick. Otherwise, if we fire a shot, the inside of the iron tube won't be able to withstand the gunpowder and will crack, which would be a waste!"
Old Master Cui knew it wouldn't work just by weighing the iron cylinders forged by the craftsmen in his hands.
Why?
Because if there are many small pores inside the iron, the feel will be different.
Old Master Cui has been in this line of work since he was a child, and his feel for it is impeccable.
If the feel isn't right, look at the side of the iron cylinder. If you see tiny holes like hair, it's no good. Throw it back and keep heating and forging it.
Sizzle—Boom!
From the open space by the door, a commotion came from the other houses, where craftsmen and artisans were using flint to manufacture automatic internal combustion packs for gunpowder that had a high combustion rate and strong resistance to extinguishing.
"Haha, this internal combustion chamber is really powerful. It spews out fireworks and flames with just a little friction, and even the small metal part at the front is thrown far away!"
"Stop laughing, go measure the distance! How many meters did you jump this time?!"
"Yes, yes, Master Qin said that the distance the gunpowder is launched is related to the thrust and range of the combined gunpowder pack, and it must be measured clearly and not vaguely!" The middle-aged and elderly craftsmen in the camp took turns measuring the small ironware that was launched.
"My goodness, it bounced really far, a whopping eight meters and a foot! And this is just an internal combustion pack, it only contains fuel, not gunpowder. If it were a long, combined gunpowder pack, the thrust from it would have propelled it a hundred meters!"
"Fang Qing, quickly make a few more using the proportions of the internal combustion pack you used this time. Spray water on the internal combustion pack this time and test its moisture-proof ability!"
"Cheer up, everyone! Move faster, stop dawdling! This is not only about whether we can win and survive, but also about earning military merit, getting our families removed from the register of origin, and bringing honor to our families!"
"To be able to leave a mark on history is a unique thing in the past and present, and it will surely be recorded in the history of Wei!"
The young, middle-aged and elderly craftsmen present nodded in agreement, expressing their gratitude to Qin Xiaomi: "Thanks to Boss Qin, even we lowly craftsmen can make such a great contribution!"
"I can't take it anymore, I want to pay my respects to Master Qin, I want to offer him incense!"
"Hey, my niece is alive and well, why are you burning incense? It sounds ominous!" Uncle Qin hurriedly jumped out to stop the group of hot-blooded craftsmen from saying anything that would lead to the extermination of the Qin family: "Besides, the Wei law prohibits supernatural forces and disorder, and violators will be punished. Do you want to make a contribution and then break the law so that your merits and demerits can be offset? That would be a huge loss!"
"Master Qin is right, we were just being careless with our words." The craftsmen and soldiers all admitted their mistakes, and one even said, "I'm punished by having to work all night to build the iron tubing!"
"Get lost, Liu Miao, you're dreaming! Everyone who makes a living as a craftsman wants to participate in building the iron tubing. You can go to the back of the line!"
"That's right, kid. Don't even think about cutting in line. There are still veteran craftsmen like us who are more skilled and have been in the camp longer than you!"
Before today, the iron tubing carts were all secretly manufactured by Qin Dongjia.
However, the war situation was urgent, and Qin Dongjia and the female soldiers were busy making gunpowder bags. Since the craftsmen and artisans also had the ability to make tools, Qin Dongjia assigned this task to them.
Today, Qin Dongjia used an iron-barreled cart to kill an enemy prince, achieving a real major victory.
Everyone was excited and curious, and they all wanted to work day and night to participate as much as possible in making the iron tube vehicle and to thoroughly understand this new weapon.
With a ringing sound, Deputy Craftsman Min rang the bell to attract everyone's attention and said, "Stop talking nonsense and follow the camp rules... After 7:30 PM, the craftsmen and workers of the 2nd, 4th, and 6th Craftsmen Battalions will go to the Mushan Sheds to sleep. They will come back to take over the shift after 5:30 AM tomorrow, and the craftsmen and workers of the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Battalions will go to sleep."
As for the craftsmen and soldiers of the 7th, 8th and 9th battalions, they would finish work and rest at noon... That's right, the three-shift system has arrived, what a miserable life.
The artisans and soldiers of the 10th Battalion worked and rested as usual to fill in for those artisans and soldiers who were exhausted.
"Huh? Why are we even-numbered battalions getting to rest first? Can't we stay up one more night? I just finished developing a new internal combustion thrust pack and I'm eager to test it a few more times to figure out the increased range of the combined gunpowder pack!" Fang Qing argued, not wanting to go to rest at 7:30 PM.
The craftsmen and soldiers of the 246th Battalion were also making a fuss, shouting that they wanted to work through the night... Don't laugh, they're just full of enthusiasm and want to get to work.
Ring ring ring!
Deputy Craftsman Min said, "Anyone who violates the camp rules will be disqualified from participating in the production of new weapons!"
Fang Qing and the complaining craftsmen immediately shut up and even clasped their hands in a salute to Deputy Craftsman Min, indicating that they knew they were wrong and begged him not to cause trouble!
Deputy Craftsman Min, with his half-dead, cold face, said, "The camp rules are the same as the craftsmanship of making weapons. They must be followed. No part of the process can be overstepped. Otherwise, one part of the weapon will be substandard, and the weapon will be ruined."
He then said to Fang Qing, "Take a good rest and keep your mind sharp so you can work better."
"Yes!" Fang Qing accepted the order and gave a salute to the Wei army.
Ring ring ring!
"Get to work, regardless of winning or losing, life or death. Before we die or lose, let's fight together!"
Upon hearing this, the craftsmen and artisans became even more fervent: "Let's join forces and fight to the death to give those bastards a shocking victory!"