Early the next morning, Zhao Zhilong and Qian Qianyi's silver was sent over early, and the other subordinates sent by the Minister of Civil and Military Affairs to inquire about the news also honestly sent the news back, and then those officials at all levels sent the silver one after another. But most of them give half or even a third, these guys, until the last moment of despair, will not be willing to pay out the silver.

Guo Chengdong didn't care about these things, so he naturally asked Qian Qianyi, Zhao Zhilong, Han Zanzhou and others to urge them. He took Wang Sixi and Chen Hengguang to the craftsman's workshop to guide the craftsmen to make defensive equipment and bombs. The other soldiers, accompanied by the commander of the Beijing camp, went to the city wall to guide the soldiers and the people to defend the city.

Guo Chengdong and others went to the arsenal first, and saw that there were soldiers moving bundles of arrows, barrels of gunpowder, and entire jars of fire oil to the city. The dusty bows and arrows, spears, rusted armor and artillery in the arsenal were also carried out in a hurry.

When they came to the craftsman's workshop, they saw that the craftsmen had already been gathered, huddled and shivering in the corner, as if they had been squatting here for a long time.

Guo Chengdong said a few words to the officer who came with them, and then the officer ordered loudly: "Get up!" Carpenters, blacksmiths, firearms craftsmen, and gunpowder craftsmen all stand separately according to their jobs! Hurry up! Waiting to be whipped?! ”

The soldiers immediately rushed forward like wolves, and with their scabbards, whips, and guns, they drove away the shivering craftsmen, telling them to quickly stand in formation.

Guo Chengdong shook his head in his heart, it is strange that such a skilled talent can make something suitable for others. But he didn't stop until the craftsmen had all split up and stood in line, and then he stepped forward. He looked at the craftsmen who bowed their heads and shrunk their heads, and finally said loudly: "Let's not talk about the rest, let's start the meal first!" There is wine and meat, and the tube is full! ”

As soon as he finished speaking, the audience was stunned. The craftsmen looked up at the general in confusion, and the soldiers were at a loss.

After a while, the officer just now stepped forward and said in a low voice: "General Guo, the thieves are coming soon, we don't have this spare time." ”

"Mr. Lu," Guo Chengdong ordered in a low voice: "You just go and prepare the meal." If you need any money, I'll have it delivered to you at once. The food doesn't have to be too good, there are only two requirements, one is to have wine and meat, and the other is that the portion must be sufficient. ”

"This~" Mr. Lu obviously didn't want to take the order.

Guo Chengdong said with a cold face: "Li Chuang is coming soon." If you miss your great affairs, they will have enough time to clean you up before the city is destroyed! ”

Mr. Lu hesitated for a while, but in the end, the official master's prestige still let him comply. He casually ordered to go down and prepare food for the more than 200 craftsmen.

Guo Chengdong said with a smile: "Everyone sit down and rest first." Anyway, it will take some time for the meal to be ready, and I'm idle now, so I'll talk about what I want you to make first. After a while, when everyone is full of food and drink, let's do it. Ao, by the way, I am Guo Chengdong, a staff general under the command of Generalissimo Anping in Jiangbei. If Li Zicheng breaks through Jinling, you are still craftsmen, but if we can hold Jinling, after our generalissimo sends troops to take over Nanjing, then you will not be craftsmen, but talents who will be courteous. With your respective abilities, even if you earn yourself a wife, it's not impossible. ”

The craftsmen are all whispering. Li Yan's well-treated craftsmen have crossed over, and they have vaguely heard of it. And the officials wanted to surrender to Li Yan and sacrifice the city, and it has been rumored for the past two days. Coupled with the attitude of this military master towards them, these craftsmen were more or less convinced.

Guo Chengdong waited for a moment, and then began to describe what he wanted. The first thing he had to do was a stone thrower. One of the simplest pull-type small stone throwers, as long as it can throw ten catties of things out of thirty or forty steps. The next thing he wants to do is a large firework or firecracker, which can hold more than two catties of gunpowder inside, and a layer of iron filings and something like that. It doesn't matter how big the firecracker is shaped or heavy, as long as it can be thrown under the city walls.

The craftsmen were idle, so everyone gathered around and began to make ideas with each other to see how they could make things according to the requirements of the military master. Even if this military master lied to them, he couldn't be too passive in his polite attitude towards them.

Half an hour later, the soldiers carried a few pieces of wood into the workshop, and when the lid was opened, the smell of rice immediately came to their faces. Then the two barrels were filled with vegetables, including greens, turnips, tofu, and most importantly, the craftsmen seemed to smell the smell of meat. At the end, there were two jars of wine, although they were in small jars, but they still excited these craftsmen. There is meat, wine, rice and rice, this is a delicacy that can only be enjoyed during the New Year, and they actually enjoyed it on this inexplicable early morning.

Guo Chengdong looked at the craftsmen who were already crowded around the barrel and ordered loudly: "All line up, there is a lot of food." As I said, let you be well fed and drunk. Not just today, but in the future. ”

The craftsmen finally believed that this Guo Junye was telling the truth, so they received the dishes and chopsticks, and they all lined up in a regular queue to eat. As for what the military master wants, he can't take care of it, so he will eat a full meal first.

At this time, Liu Chuanmo on the city wall, Ouyang Yun, Dugu San, Mu Jiuchou and others were so tired that they even shouted hoarsely. On the city wall, whether it is the soldiers of the Beijing camp or the people who are rushing to help the war with money, almost all of them are rookies who have not been in battle. You can still deal with it if you let them walk in a queue, but when you let them operate the artillery, they are timid, they only dare to put half the required amount of gunpowder into it, and the movement is surprisingly slow.

"I don't know if I have a pound of medicine?!" Ouyang Yun scolded an artilleryman: "This is a Frankie cannon, are you still afraid of exploding?!" ”

Then he scolded another: "What are you doing so hard?!" I finally made it into granules, and I let you pound it into powder again, can this still be powerful?! ”

"And you!" Immediately another lesson was learned: "The wooden cushion at hand must be padded into the tail of the gun." This is not an ornament, if you don't have a cushion, the back seat of the sub-cannon will come back, not only will the cannon be destroyed, but even you will not escape casualties! ”

The artillerymen either wiped a cold sweat or listened indifferently.

Ouyang Yun scolded: "Don't listen to persuasion, if you hurt yourself by firing a cannon in a while, you will suffer your own losses." If anyone doesn't open fire, they will directly cut off their heads! ”

In the distance, Yanagawa Sue commanded Minzhuang to build sandbags behind the battlements. Reminder: "Like laying bricks, one row is horizontal and one vertical, so that it can be stable." What do you do? Who told you to bring the oil up?! Move to the Hidden Soldier Cave! ”

Mu Jiuchou at the other end pointed: "You, squatting here with an axe, as soon as you see the thieves in the upper city showing up, you will chop over." Both of you, stab with spears at the same time from both sides. And you, with a stick, the thief will have to fall half to death even if he doesn't die, so you just wait to receive the reward. ”

...