Burning coke and smelting molten iron did not make Xiao Yiran happy for long. The report of Tian Yuan's intelligence department made a dark cloud rise in Xiao Yiran's heart.

"Emperor, recently sent to keep an eye on the scout reports of the large ethnic groups in the north, the other party has obviously stepped up the rhythm of military training, and at the same time, a lot of other party's spies have been found near the Wangshan station recently, but those spies are very alert, most of them have not been caught, but a few people who have been caught, without waiting for interrogation, have committed suicide."

"How did they kill themselves?"

"It's a kind of poison that is in the mouth, and as soon as I caught them, I swallowed the medicine and committed suicide, and I didn't have time to rescue them."

"Have any of our people been caught by the other side?"

"It's not clear that the last group of people sent out won't return until five days later."

"You go down first, don't let your scouts treat the advanced weapons, bows, arrows, swords, etc. in the clan."

Xiao Yiran knew that the northern clan was estimated to be going to do something against the dragon clan soon, and would not give the dragon clan another chance to develop and grow.

"Chuan Liangmu, Li Yu, Xuanyi."

When the three arrived, Xiao Yiran first ordered Liang Mu:

"Liang Mu, concentrate on making iron arrow clusters, and in addition, replace all the bronze hook and sickle guns of the five hundred hook and sickle troops with iron ones. If you still have the energy to spare, forge more iron swords. ”

"Li Yu, hurry up on the northwest side of the Wangshan garrison to observe the terrain and build a defensive position to prevent the northern ethnic groups from launching a surprise attack. Dig as many wide trenches as possible, set up more barricades, etc., to deal with the opposing cavalry. ”

"Xuanyi, do a good job of preparing for the big war, especially the reserve of military materials, which must be done in advance."

After the three of them took the order and left, Xiao Yiran summoned Xiang Lin, Lin Zhan, and Xuan Liang again.

"Judging from the news from Tian Yuan's investigation, I'm afraid that the northern tribe won't give us enough time to develop and grow. War can happen at any time, so we have to prepare for the worst. The three of you must strive to practice the proficient Five Elements Bagua Array in the shortest possible time.

Xuan Liang, how many war horses can be used at present? ”

"Emperor, less than one hundred and sixty horses?"

"We must protect the mares and stallions during the breeding period, and we can't pull these horses to the battlefield."

"Twenty mares and five stallions were left."

"Okay, the cavalry is the treasure of our dragon clan, and they must be trained well."

As the news spread that the northern tribes might attack the dragon clan in the near future, the clansmen who had just implemented private ownership and had lived a relatively prosperous life in each family not only did not feel panic, but instead shared the same hatred for the enemy, and in order to protect the current good life, aroused the hatred of the northern tribe in their hearts. This is probably the best news Xiao Yiran has ever heard.

Following Li Yu to inspect the fortification plan prepared by the General Staff, Xiao Yiran was nailed to the smelter almost every day. The numerical disadvantage of the soldiers can only be compensated for by the superiority in weapons for the time being. In addition, Xiao Yiran still tried his best to find saltpeter so that he could produce black powder. If the dragons have black powder, they will not be afraid of any race for a long time.

looked at the five hundred catties of charcoal that Liang Mu had picked out, but the sulfur was still a lot worse, Xiao Yiran roughly estimated that the sulfur was less than 100 catties. If calculated according to the ratio of one nitrate, two sulfur and three charcoal, the sulfur is still much worse. Xiao Yiran also knew that with the current level of technology, it was impossible to collect a large amount of sulfur. Even if there is enough sulfur, it is useless without saltpeter. Xiao Yiran looked at the dozens of catties of sulfur in front of him, and suddenly remembered that if there was phosphorus, it would be good not only to use phosphorus and sulfur to produce matches, so that no longer using flint, or drilling wood to make fire, but also to make rockets. Rockets are the best weapon for sneak attacks.

Saltpeter, phosphorus, Xiao Yiran can only mutter a few words in his mouth, the two, no matter which one is not what you want to get, you can only wait for the opportunity.

Liang Mu was not disappointed, and soon, the first batch of iron arrow clusters were cast. Iron arrow clusters are much smaller than copper arrow clusters because the molten iron is easier to form, and once formed, it is not prone to cracks and other defects like copper products. Therefore, casting objects with molten iron will have a higher yield rate, and from another point of view, the efficiency will be higher. When the iron arrow cluster replaced the original copper arrow cluster, the bow and arrow not only increased the shooting distance, but also improved the accuracy a lot.

After the cluster of iron arrows, iron hook and sickle spears and swords were made. Looking at the weapons in the soldiers' hands, Xiao Yiran's confidence increased. I thought to myself, if the northern tribe gave the dragon clan another two to three years, let alone the northern tribe of about 30,000 people, even a larger race, the dragon clan could handle it. It's just that time is running out, and Xiao Yiran also understands that many things are not what he wants.

One evening, Xiao Yiran, who had just returned to the palace from the smelter, suddenly saw Xiao An.

"Ann, why are you here? Is there something going on over there in Longshan? ”

"Emperor, it's okay over there, I just heard that the northern tribes may launch an attack on the Wangshan station, so I'm coming to see you."

"You came on your own, child?"

"The dragon girl was taken away by Xiao Ju, and she is playing with Xiao Xin."

"Little Dragon Girl is one year old, right?"

"yes, it's a year and a month."

"Have you seen Xiang Lin?"

"Not yet, no hurry, it's too late to see you in the evening. Sister Ran, are you sure to deal with the ethnic groups in the north? ”

"If you are sure to deal with them, if you are not sure you have to deal with them. You can't give up the Wangshan station that has just been built, right? ”

"I just heard Xiaoju say that the other party's strength is much stronger than ours."

"It's not much stronger, it's just that they have more people, more soldiers, and more cavalry. However, we also have an advantage, and our weapons are good. You haven't seen anything made of iron yet, have you? I'll take you to see it tomorrow, and when I'm leaving, I'll take some back with me, and I'll change the weapons of your soldiers there." ”

"Seeing that Sister Ran is so confident, I am relieved. I've been worried about Sister Ran, if I see that Sister Ran is not confident, I want to persuade Sister Ran to go back to the Mengyue River station. ”

"Thank you, Xiao An. The Mengyue River garrison will definitely not be able to return, and if they can attack here, they will have the ability to attack the Mengyue River. With the Hope Mountain garrison, they will not take the liberty of attacking Mengyue River and Longshan. ”

"Sister Ran, do you want me to stay?"

"Not for the time being. You must know that Mengyue River and Longshan are the rear of the Dragon Clan, and being able to stabilize and produce more food for the Wangshan garrison is equivalent to helping me. ”

"Sister Ran, please rest assured, with me Xiao An here, Longshan and Mengyuehe are here, and the grain will continue to be transported over. Now, with the construction of roads to haul copper ore, it is much easier to transport grain. ”