The rebel army's foremost master craftsman forged a million iron pylons!

"Take out the iron ore from the tunnel."

"We'll work on the blacksmithing all night."

Li Tian's spirits lifted, and he shouted loudly.

Wu Laoliu and the others looked at each other in bewilderment.

Why the rush? The brothers have been cooped up in the cellar for seven days and all want to get a good night's sleep and breathe some fresh air.

Seeing this, Li Tian instantly guessed what they were thinking and said earnestly.

"Brothers, I'm not forcing you."

"It's just that there simply wasn't enough time."

"The news that we've taken Wolf Head Castle won't stay hidden for long; Lu Zhao'an will find out soon enough."

"We must prepare our defenses before his army marches in."

"We have to wait until the brothers have eaten their fill. We've only been eating wild vegetables and cornbread for the past few days, and we're starving," Zhao Erbao muttered under his breath.

Li Tian frowned, only then realizing that his brothers hadn't had a proper meal in the past few days.

"Old Wu, how much grain do we have left?" Li Tian asked.

Wu Laoliu chuckled, "Don't worry, Corporal. Before we left, I put all our grain in the tunnel."

As he spoke, Wu Laoliu jogged all the way to the tunnel, and soon returned carrying two large bags of grain on his shoulders.

Li Tian glanced at them and estimated that the two bags of grain weighed about thirty kilograms.

If used as rations, it could probably feed the entire unit for about two days.

food.

Li Tian frowned again.

Joining the army is just so you can have a meal.

If people can't even get enough to eat, who would want to join the army and fight?

Li Tian never expected that food would become the first obstacle he faced after arriving at Wolf Head Fortress.

After careful consideration, I decided to proceed.

Li Tian believes there are three ways to solve the food crisis.

First, they helped nearby villagers solve their farming problems, but this method was too slow. They could only serve for six months before leaving.

Second, send someone to Nankai City to ask General Chen for grain, but this method is probably not going to work, because the rebel army doesn't have much grain to begin with.

Besides that, there is only a third option—borrowing grain or buying grain with money.

When I think about this problem,

Li Tian immediately thought of Master Zhou from Zhoujiazhuang.

He was in the salt and iron business, so he naturally had no shortage of grain.

If we borrow grain from him, perhaps we can resolve the current crisis.

Once he understood the problem, Li Tian suddenly felt enlightened and said calmly, "Alright, everyone go back to your rooms and rest for an hour. Qiao San Niang, go and cook for everyone."

"An hour later, I will teach you how to create a new object."

The soldiers obeyed and left.

As the first wisp of smoke rose from Wolf Head Fortress, the stench of blood in the air was immediately diluted, and Wolf Head Fortress regained its former vitality.

An hour later, the seven men of Wolf Head Fortress gathered at a table once again.

The food was also excellent.

Wild vegetables, rice porridge, dried meat, and steamed corn bread.

But compared to the meals at Old Man Yu's house, the food here is much more plentiful.

The soldiers devoured the food, feeling it was the best meal they had ever eaten.

.......

A moment later, the food on the table was completely gone.

Wu Laoliu drank another bowl of wine, then stood up unsteadily. "Sergeant, you said you were going to forge a new item. What is it?"

"The new thing is called a bed crossbow. It's similar to the repeating crossbows we used to make, but it's dozens of times more powerful."

Li Tian said calmly.

"As usual, Zhao Erbao, Zhao Yong, and Chen Junshan will follow me to work as blacksmiths."

"The rest of the people will do the carpentry work with you."

"Hurry up and move faster."

"Before dawn, we need to make three ballistae, and each person also needs a repeating ballista."

At Li Tian's command, the camp immediately sprang into action once again.

Li Tianxian drew a diagram on the ground for Wu Laoliu using a twig and explained it to him for a long time before Wu Laoliu finally understood.

This crossbow was indeed troublesome to manufacture.

Many parts are needed, the most important being the difficulty in finding bowstrings.

However, in the several battles at Wolf Head Fortress, they captured quite a few bows and arrows from the enemy. By dismantling those bowstrings and twisting them together, they should have enough for their needs.

After assigning tasks.

The entire camp was bustling with activity again.

Wu Laoliu and a few others were doing carpentry work on the side.

Li Tian, ​​along with Zhao Erbao and a few others, were working on spare parts on the side.

Bang bang bang!

The sound of hammering never ceased.

It sounded like muffled thunder.

But Wu Laoliu and the others felt particularly at ease when they heard this voice.

Because in their eyes, Li Tian wasn't forging iron, but forging the hope of the future.

......

Just as dawn was breaking.

Apart from Li Tian, ​​everyone in the barracks was so exhausted that they slumped against the wall.

Three new things have appeared in the yard.

It is half a meter wide, two meters long, and one meter high. It is jet black and shiny, with a ferocious appearance.

This is the ballista, a powerful weapon for breaching city walls on the battlefield.

With a range of 500 meters and immense power, it can directly penetrate city gates.

Each ballista is equipped with twelve spear-like arrows, which lie quietly beside it.

The arrows contained extraterrestrial meteorite iron that Li Tian had retrieved from the system, making them capable of penetrating armor and far more powerful than ordinary ballistae.

Other than that,

Li Tian also equipped everyone with a repeating crossbow, which could fire eight arrows at a time and was automatically cocked, making it a formidable weapon on the battlefield.

same.

The crossbows were also equipped with extraterrestrial meteorite iron arrows, making the imperial armor extremely vulnerable to these arrows.

"Quickly, move all the newly manufactured weapons behind the earthen walls of Wolf Head Fortress, and guard them from all sides."

"In the days to come, we have only one goal: to repel Lu Zhao'an's troops and protect our Wolf Head Fortress."

Although I know everyone is tired, time waits for no one.

Li Tian quickly gave the order.

Wu Laoliu and the others exchanged glances, struggled to their feet, and began moving the weapons in the yard onto the wall.

An hour later.

The three ballistae and the nine-barreled repeating crossbows were moved to their respective positions on the earthen wall.

Wolf Head Fortress may be small, but it was already heavily armed at this point.

Seeing that everything was in place, Li Tian finally breathed a long sigh of relief and said to Wu Laoliu and the others.

"Alright, brothers, you've worked hard. Now you can take a break."

"However, from today onwards, all of us will have to eat and sleep behind this earthen wall, and we cannot relax in the slightest."

"Until we defeat Lu Zhao'an's troops."

"As for the food, have Qiao San Niang prepare it and bring it to us under the suspension bridge."

After saying that, Li Tian walked to a ballista, sat on the ground, leaned against the wall, and began to close his eyes to rest.

Seeing this, Wu Laoliu and the others followed Li Tian's example, finding a corner to sit in and quietly waiting for the enemy to come to their door.

Wolf Head Fortress seems to have returned to its former tranquility.

.......

Thirty miles away, the vanguard army camp.

Lu Zhaoan appeared somewhat anxious and uneasy.

Seven days have passed, a full seven days. He has sent out a large number of scouts to search for the whereabouts of Li Tian and the others.

But this group of people seemed to have vanished from this place in an instant, and they could not be found no matter how hard they searched.

What's most infuriating is that Qin Shuang couldn't be found either.

That's the daughter of a general.

He simply cannot bear the responsibility of getting lost in this area.

"What time is it?" Lu Zhaoan asked his personal guard as he turned around.

"It's Chenshi (7-9 AM)," the guard said.

"Send someone to deliver food to the soldiers at Wolf Head Fortress. If Li Tian doesn't come to seize the fortress today, it means he's all talk and no action."

"Tell our men to withdraw. It's just a dilapidated barracks; there's nothing worth defending."

Lu Zhaoan said bitterly.