Zuo Mengeng and Li Xianfeng led the troops to the north together, and they were safe and sound along the way. Zuo Mengeng's 5,000 people, plus Li Xianfeng's more than 1,000 Fubiao camps, which bandits dare to provoke? They are all far away. Moreover, they only take the main road, and only stop in the big towns and county seats, and they have no intention of suppressing bandits along the way, so of course they are safe and sound.

The thieves and bandits can hide, but the homeless people have no place to hide. These people fled from the countryside to the county seat just to have a stutter. But not only did they not have anything to eat, but the whole of Henan was suffering from a big poor harvest, and the whole of Henan was short of food. Therefore, all the county towns will not let the displaced people in, and the displaced people can only gather outside the county seat, waiting for possible relief from the county.

After waiting for a long time, they still didn't wait for the relief from the imperial court, and the people who had a heart began to loot, and then gathered in the mountains and forests and became thieves and bandits. Those who dare not rebel eat Guanyin soil, or even boil a soft stone in the mountain to eat, and finally eat people.

Outside the city of Xuzhou.

"Li Futai," Zuo Mengeng said with a smile: "Henan is really withered, I came here all the way, but I saw all the displaced people outside the city." ”

Li Xianfeng said helplessly: "Last year, the locust plague and the great drought, coupled with the rise of thieves and bandits, wandered around to collect grain, and the harvest was poor everywhere. Therefore, there are more people fleeing the famine this year, which makes General Zuo smile. ”

Zuo Mengeng glanced at those fearful homeless people, and said with a smile: "That's fine, it's cheaper to buy people." I have to build a troupe, I heard that Luo Rucai's traitor takes the troupe with him everywhere, and he is more nourishing than all of us. We also have to fight for some anger, and we can't let the thieves compare, do you say? ”

"It's the pole, it's the pole." Li Xianfeng nodded in agreement. Even if he didn't agree, he didn't dare to show it. If this second ancestor is unhappy, something may happen.

Besides, this Xuzhou turned out to be Zuo Liangyu's base camp, and it was only when he was transferred to suppress the thieves that he withdrew. But people are familiar with the land, and it can be regarded as half of the home field, Zuo Mengeng, the young marshal, can toss as much as he wants, he doesn't dare to care more.

Zuo Mengeng said with a smile again: "Since Li Futai wants to go north to Kaifeng, then the general will not stay." But the grain and grass we went to Guide to Germany, Li Futai didn't know if it had been arranged? ”

Li Xianfeng replied: "Don't worry, general, I have written to all counties along the way, no matter what difficulties, I will give priority to preparing grain and grass for the general." The general is on the march, and does not have to worry about supplies along the way. ”

Zuo Mengeng arched his hand and said, "Then thank Li Futai." ”

Li Xianfeng hurriedly returned the salute to Zuo Mengeng, and then got on the sedan chair, and under the escort of his Fubiao camp, he marched to Kaifeng.

And Yang Shoubei, at this time, can only follow the team and go to Kaifeng. He found that leaving Qixian was his biggest mistake, there was no promotion and wealth at all, only helplessness and boredom. But he can only endure it, he has less than 400 people under his command, but there are more than 1,000 people in the Fubiao camp, if he has any ideas, I'm afraid his subordinates will not go crazy with him.

Zuo Mengeng was not in a hurry to return to Germany, but continued to stay in Xuzhou. He asked his subordinates to go outside the city to pick out young and beautiful girls, and if one person gave half a liter of rice noodles, he could get the deed of sale. Even with this little bit of food, the homeless people outside the city are still scrambling to sell themselves.

Young Marshal Zuo chose first, and after he picked out all the things he liked, the rest were rewarded to his personal soldiers and Jin Shengheng. Jin Shengheng was not interested in these hungry girls with only a handful of bones, so he rewarded them all to his subordinates. Since Zuo Mengeng was not in a hurry, Jin Shengheng was even less anxious, so they continued to stay in Xuzhou City and live happily.

Zuo Mengeng stayed in Xuzhou, but it made the "dragon" active in this area feel pressure, so he also quietly began to move eastward, wanting to go to Guide Mansion to develop and stay away from Zuo's army. If there is any danger, you can also go to Bozhou to join forces with Yuan Laoshan, and advance and retreat freely.

Qi County, blacksmith workshop.

After Li Yan drove the thieves away, he asked Li Mu to send people to survey the terrain and find a few suitable locations to build a stockade. It can not only effectively control the county border, but also facilitate the reclamation of farmland and the resettlement of displaced people in the surrounding area.

He didn't care about any of this, and he came to the blacksmith as soon as possible. Want to know more about the construction of the Musket Barrel.

"Is the gun pipe built?" Li Yan asked. At the same time, he boasted: "Your three-eyed gun tube is good, and there is no explosion." ”

Blacksmith Zhou said with a smile: "As long as the son is satisfied, we will take care of the quality problem." All the links are done in strict accordance with the requirements, and the inspection is very detailed, and the problematic products will never flow out of here. Later, he explained: "The barrel is still being made, four feet long, some are too long, if you are not careful, there will be a gas leak, and the whole barrel will be useless." ”

"Think of a way, don't be in a hurry." Li Yan had no choice but to comfort. He could only wait, not in a hurry.

Blacksmith Zhou nodded and said, "Don't worry, I will definitely get it for Childe." ”

Li Yan nodded, changed the topic and said, "Handcuffs, will you get them?" ”

"Handcuffs?" Blacksmith Zhou asked suspiciously.

Li Yan explained: "It is the same as the gun, the trigger is pulled to fire, but the barrel is shorter, and it can be fired by holding the grip with one hand." ”

Blacksmith Zhou thought about it in his mind for a moment and said, "Isn't there a need to make a musket?" If the barrel is short, the shot will not be far. ”

Li Yan nodded and said, "It's for cavalry." The idea of the Three-Eyed Gun is not very good. It lit the shot with a lead, and the timing of the shot was not easy to master; Also, it is fixed with the hands and armpits, which is too far away from the eyes to aim. I think it's better to use the handcuffs directly, otherwise it will be difficult to even ignite the fire when the cavalry hedges. ”

"But isn't the handcuff also to be lit with a fire rope?" Blacksmith Zhou asked suspiciously.

Li Yan explained: "You can use flint to make fire, use the bird's beak to clamp a flint, and then there is an iron piece on the edge of the medicine pool, and when you pull the trigger, the flint and the iron piece hit and ignite, and the spark falls into the medicine pool, which can activate the gunpowder in the barrel." ”

"This, this has to be done slowly, right?" Blacksmith Zhou asked weakly. Since he followed Li Gongzi, he has always asked him to get some new things, and the simple way is easy to say, but he is also blind to complex things, and he can only ponder slowly, which is really tiring.

Li Yan smiled: "It's okay, take your time, I'll send you a schematic diagram another day, you watch and think slowly." If you don't understand, you can come to me. Also, the barrel of this handcuff is temporarily used with the barrel of the three-eyed gun. There is no need to do it anymore, if it is already done, I will let people take it to the camp and let the soldiers use it first. ”

"Okay, I see, I'll try to get it for you." Blacksmith Zhou had no confidence in guaranteeing it.

Li Yan patted him on the shoulder and said, "Don't rush, take your time." I'll come here often, too, so let's talk about it. ”