Li Zicheng had just used some morning, and was thinking about how to appease the craftsmen who were temporarily stranded in the back office, Shen Dao trotted to the official office, and did not wait for He Xiaomi's communication, and came directly to the back office where Li Zicheng lived, provoking He Xiaomi to run behind like a bodyguard, and shouted: "My lord......"

Seeing Li Zicheng sitting at the dining table, he immediately turned over and knelt on the ground, "My lord, my subordinates neglected yesterday and almost caused a big disaster, my subordinates ...... The subordinates have come to ask for punishment from the adults! ”

"Speaking of which, you are indeed guilty, the craftsman did not summon a few people, but summoned an assassin," Li Zicheng ate breakfast and drank hot tea by himself, and did not let Shen Dao get up, "How about it, how many craftsmen have been summoned?" ”

"Your Excellency, your subordinates...... Because his subordinates were concerned about the safety of adults, they did not summon craftsmen today...... Damn it...... Subordinates damn ......" Shen Dao knocked on the ground with his head, but secretly looked at Li Zicheng with the corner of his eye, and saw that Li Zicheng's face was not angry, and he looked calm and enjoying breakfast, and he didn't feel a little settled in his heart.

"Get up!" Li Zicheng just finished eating breakfast, he clapped his hands and got up, removing the remaining crumbs on his hands, "Go, follow me to see the craftsmen!" ”

"My lord......" Shen Dao's face changed suddenly, and his eyes kept rolling, "If your lord has any orders, let your subordinates go down!" The subordinates will never misrepresent the meaning of the adult. ”

"What are you afraid of, Lord Ben has so many personal soldiers, and how many craftsmen will he be afraid of?" Li Zicheng smiled secretly in his heart, this Shen Dao, I don't know if I am really worried about my safety, but there is only one Cao Jian, could it be that these craftsmen are all assassins? I even forgave Cao Jian, and I would be afraid of them?

Li Zicheng strode out of the dining hall, He Xiaomi followed closely with his own soldiers, Shen Dao couldn't dissuade him, so he had to take a few steps and follow Li Zicheng's side, with He Xiaomi and two personal soldiers in the middle.

There is a bedroom on the left side of the back office, the door is closed, there are four soldiers guarding the door, two soldiers stand opposite each other, their eyes fall on the pale yellow door panel, and two other soldiers are shaking in front of the door, but no matter where they are, their eyes are firmly fixed on the wooden door.

Seeing Li Zicheng striding forward, the four soldiers knelt down together, "Subordinates, knock to see your lord!" ”

"Get up!" Li Zicheng raised his hand and motioned for the soldiers to get up, "How are they doing?" Have you had breakfast? ”

After one of the soldiers got up, he quickly replied: "My lord, they have eaten, and it has been relatively quiet inside, and there should be no moths." ”

"Open the door!" Li Zicheng pointed with his hand, and the soldier who replied answered, immediately took the key from his waist, opened the copper lock, and pushed the heavy gate open.

He Xiaomi stepped forward and walked in front of Li Zicheng, his right hand was already on the hilt of the knife at his waist, and his eyes were staring at the front.

Li Zicheng smiled slightly, "Xiaomi, don't be nervous, they are just craftsmen." ”

"Yes, sir!" He Xiaoxiao agreed, but his right hand did not leave the hilt, and his eyes were still scanning ahead like a searchlight, lest he miss any corner.

There were nine craftsmen in the room, sitting or standing, looking nervous, haggard, and the bags under their eyes were even more obvious blue-black, obviously they hadn't slept well last night.

Originally, the Lord of Qianhu was summoned, and they still had a glimmer of hope, maybe they didn't know if they were extremely Tailai, but as soon as they met, there was an assassination incident, and they were even locked up in the back office, and they were desperate, and greeted Cao Jian's ancestors one by one for the eighteen generations.

But just now, Cao Jian, who they thought was certain to die, regained his freedom and took away all the craftsmen who knew carpentry, obviously to complete some urgent task.

They were surprised, and wanted to ask Cao Jian to understand, especially how Lord Qianhu was going to send them down, but Cao Jian kept a calm face except for urging the carpenters to follow him quickly, and there was no superfluous word, and they had no way of knowing what was going on.

Nervousness is the truest portrayal of their hearts at the moment, but the door is locked, and there are soldiers guarding the door, they don't dare to talk loudly, they can only look at each other, one by one worried.

Li Zicheng and Shen Dao arrived together, so that they were forced to let go of their tangled hearts, what should come will always come, and they can't hide, everyone knelt down together, kowtowed, and saluted.

Looking at these ragged craftsmen, Li Zicheng remembered the earthen thatched house he was standing in Li's house, especially the gap next to the door frame, "at the same time, the end of the world fell into people", he just had the experience of later generations, knew the general direction of historical development, and grasped his own destiny one step earlier, but the future is full of ups and downs, and if he is not careful, it is an abyss, and when the time comes, I am afraid that this tattered body is a luxury.

In a low voice, he said, "Get up!" ”

"Yes, sir!" The craftsmen seemed to hear the sound of heaven, and there was no anger in it that frightened them, so they held their knees one by one, stood up straight, and straightened their waists, hoping to make a good impression on the Senno-sama.

Li Zicheng sat down on the small wooden bench sent by He Xiaomi, but said to the craftsmen: "Who among you is the blacksmith?" ”

"Me!"

"Me!"

……

The four craftsmen raised their hands one after another, skinny, wrinkled, and somewhat dark, rougher than the calluses of the soldiers.

Li Zicheng glanced at it, selected a craftsman with a thirty-looking appearance from among them, and prepared to make him a leader, "What's your name?" ”

"Back to my lord, grass people...... The grass people are called Liu Fang! Liu Fang obviously didn't expect Li Zicheng to find him, so he was in a hurry, stumbled and finished his answer, his neck shrunk, and he wanted to hide behind everyone.

"Liu Fang? Liufang Baishi, this name is good," Li Zicheng laughed, "It's not difficult to want to be Liufang Baishi, you have to show your own skills, and Lord Ben is now handing over a task." ”

"Adult......" Liu Fang was surprised and delighted, surprised that he was targeted by an adult, happy that the adult did not want to punish him, and seemed to trust him very much, if only he could complete the task assigned by the adult, but the current craftsman workshop ...... Hey, he sighed, "If I make weapons and armor now, I'm afraid I'm ...... I'm afraid there aren't enough people, and ...... And the pig iron in the craftsman's workshop is probably rusty for a long time......"

"Isn't there enough pig iron in the craftsman's workshop?" Li Zicheng frowned, "Weapons and armor, I don't need to buy them for the time being, what I need is farm tools, plowshares, ears, plow keys, etc., as well as shovels, hoes, pickaxes, and two teeth, everything that can be used on the cultivated land, I need it, can you make these?" ”

"My lord, these farm tools, it is not difficult to make, the key is pig iron, as well as craftsmen's workshops and manpower, I am afraid that it is difficult to meet the minimum requirements of casting, and the grass people usually help the soldiers to repair weapons." Liu Fang's speech gradually became clearer, mainly worried that with the flight of a large number of craftsmen, the current craftsman workshop was almost scrapped.

"In a while, Lord Ben will personally go to the craftsman's workshop to have a look," Li Zicheng didn't expect that the craftsman's workshop was already festering to the point of being difficult to clean up, just like this Xiningwei itself, he sighed in his heart, but turned his eyes to the remaining craftsmen, "What kind of craftsmen are you?" ”

"Lord Hui, the grass people are barbecuers!"

"Lord Hui, the grass people and the other three are firearms craftsmen!"

Li Zicheng almost thought of the barbecue in later generations, and after a pause, he realized that it should be a kind of thing, so he asked the two: "What will you burn?" ”

"Back to my lord, the grass people will fire ceramics, and the rice bowls, soup pots, clay pots, etc., used by the soldiers for dinner, the grass people will make them, but they are ......."

"It's just that there is a lack of manpower, and it is difficult for the craftsman workshop to meet the minimum conditions required for production, right?" Li Zicheng shook his head and sighed, not knowing what the craftsman's workshop was in tatters.

"My lord......" The two of them were immediately stunned, is my lord disappointed, or do you know that the craftsman's workshop is now decadent?

Li Zicheng no longer looked at the two of them, but turned his gaze to the remaining three, "The three of you are firearms craftsmen, what kind of craftsmanship do you have?" Will you make a #Gun? ”

"My lord," said the leader of the three, trembling, "we can only tinker, and to make a bird gun or an arquebus, we need a lot of manpower, and our skills are ......."

Li Zicheng understands that these craftsmen are basically wasted, and Wei Li himself ignores their existence intentionally or unintentionally in order to save silver, in addition to the necessary repairs, basically let them be in a state of long-term employment, and the craftsmen who have mastered the key skills have long since fled, maybe they can use their superb craftsmanship to eat, and the remaining craftsmen, Wei Li himself is not to be seen, plus they have no skills, naturally they can't talk about profits, so that they are poor and become like this.

It seems that their plan to count on them to make agricultural tools on a large scale may be difficult to implement.

However, Li Zicheng did not give up, everything is not broken, and perhaps "broken" to the extreme is the best opportunity to "stand".

The officers in the guard, like Du Youheng, Shen Dao, etc., may not be good at commanding battles, but they should be smoother than ordinary soldiers and ordinary people, and if it is appropriate, it can be regarded as giving them a way out.

"Lord Shen, let's go to the craftsman's workshop and see what the situation is."

"Yes, sir, please!" Shen Dao bowed down, pointed with his hand, let Li Zicheng go first, accompanied by the side and behind, and listened to the dictation of the craftsmen, he also estimated that the craftsman's workshop is too bad now, but it is no wonder, he can't remember how long Wei Li has not paid the craftsmen, there is no remuneration, and the craftsmen have no pasture, arable land and other subsidies for the family, if they don't flee, they can only wait for death.

Li Zicheng's personal soldiers, as well as these nine craftsmen, also followed, a team of dozens of people, went straight to the craftsman's workshop, counting that the craftsman's workshop has never been so lively except at the beginning of its establishment.