Needing a Blacksmith

Half a month had passed. As soldiers' families arrived one after another, the population of Cangqi City slowly increased to over a thousand people.

Though most were elderly, women, and children, they could still do construction work, build houses, or at least wash clothes and cook.

The camp walls had been reinforced with two layers, with pine wood in between that could be walked on. If bandits attacked, arrows could be fired from above. Three gates were built with heavy wooden doors, giving Cangqi City basic defensive capabilities.

Beyond the camp walls was the interior of Cangqi City. Surrounded by mountains on three sides, with vast plains in the middle, this terrain was truly advantageous. Luo Yu designated areas at both mountain bases for housing: one for soldiers' barracks and the other for civilians' homes.

With silver in hand, Luo Yu felt more confident. Workers who participated in wall construction received daily wages, which made everyone happy and eager to work.

Construction and training were in full swing, presenting a thriving scene. Cangqi City changed every day.

A flat area was leveled in the valley to serve as a training ground. Three hundred able-bodied men trained there, practicing swords, spears, bows, and horse archery. For now, they didn't need to be experts at everything, but they needed to be proficient in all these skills.

Xiao Shaoyou stood with his arms crossed, deep in thought, while Han Shuo supervised the troops' training. The two worked well together.

Luo Yu walked over:

"Xiao Battalion Commander, I heard you wanted to see me? Have you thought of any ways to strengthen our army?"

"Actually, many ideas have been brewing in my mind for years, but I never had the chance to implement them."

Xiao Shaoyou looked at the three hundred tough soldiers:

"Ordinary people focus on clothing, food, housing, and transportation. In my view, to build a strong army, the basics are also clothing, food, housing, and transportation."

"Oh? Explain more about this clothing, food, housing, and transportation."

Luo Yu was curious about what was in Xiao Shaoyou's mind.

"Clothing isn't just about clothes, but also soldiers' equipment. There are cloth armor, leather armor, and iron armor. The better the armor's defensive capabilities, the stronger the soldiers' combat power. There are also long spears, crossbows, and curved swords - all need to be of high quality. As the saying goes, 'To do a job well, one must first sharpen one's tools.' Armor and weapons are the most direct way to improve combat power;

Food means eating enough. Daily training and battle consume a lot of energy. How can you train elite troops if they can't even eat properly? Not to mention winning battles;

Housing refers to the camp environment. A dirty, messy, and poor environment easily breeds diseases and epidemics. So the camp must be clean and tidy;

Transportation refers to horses. Longxi is a border region, and the Western Qiang are nomadic people who excel at horse archery. To fight them, we need as many cavalry as possible."

Xiao Shaoyou said a lot, and Luo Yu listened with great interest. This was exactly like the memories of the mercenary in his head - focusing on details first, then discussing overall tactics.

In the end, Xiao Shaoyou summarized:

"Food isn't lacking now, and the brothers can eat their fill; I'll take care of the camp environment; horses can't be rushed.

What we urgently need to solve now is clothing - getting the soldiers equipped with fine armor and weapons. This is the most important. Although we brought back many weapons from Yungyang Pass, half of them are damaged and are no better than scrap metal, useless."

After saying this, Xiao Shaoyou stared at Luo Yu for a long time. Luo Yu was taken aback:

"Why are you looking at me?"

"You're the city lord, I'm the battalion commander. I'm responsible for training troops, and you're responsible for solving the problems I encounter. So you need to get the fine armor and weapons. Otherwise, what kind of city lord are you?"

Xiao Shaoyou's serious words almost made Han Shuo laugh. Luo Yu was furious but still said seriously:

"Chiqi Mountain has iron mines, which is like a windfall for us. As long as we have a suitable blacksmith, it will be simple to forge fine armor and weapons.

But the problem is where to find a blacksmith?

We can't just hire any blacksmith from Fengchuan City, as that would expose the secret of the Chiqi Mountain mines. We need someone we know and trust."

"Ah, I actually know one!"

Han Shuo slapped his thigh:

"I have an old friend who's a blacksmith. He has a blacksmith shop with seven or eight workers. Later, my friend passed away, and the shop was passed to his son, Gongshu Bai, who is twenty-two years old."

"Twenty-two?"

Xiao Shaoyou was puzzled:

"Isn't that too young? Blacksmithing requires years of experience. What can a man in his early twenties accomplish?"

"You shouldn't underestimate him."

Han Shuo, seeing Xiao Shaoyou's doubts, said seriously:

"Men of the Gongshu family have been blacksmiths for generations, with exquisite skills. Their iron products are unparalleled in nearby towns, and no one who has used them says they're bad.

Gongshu Bai showed exceptional talent from a young age, not only learning the century-old family smelting techniques but also mastering machinery and woodworking. That old friend said his son was a once-in-a-generation genius.

If we want to forge armor and weapons, he's the perfect person!"

"Since Brother Han recommends him so strongly, I'll trust him!"

Luo Yu said solemnly: "What's wrong with being young? Aren't we young too? Who would have thought we could kill Wanyan Chang and defend Yungyang Pass?

I'll trouble Brother Han to make a trip and bring this person to Cangqi as soon as possible!"

"Alright!"

"I'll set out today!"

...

Dingzhou, Jun Family Estate

In the back courtyard, a row of rare flowers were planted. It was early spring, and they were all about to bloom, competing with each other in beauty. Jun Muzhu leisurely watered the flowers with a pot of water, his black robe adorned with gold and silver threads clearly showing his noble status as a nobleman's son.

After a moment, the white-haired butler came up behind him:

"Master, I've found out."

"Speak."

"Luo Yu didn't use the old site of Qicheng, but built walls along the mountain pass. A row of wooden stakes has already been erected, completely blocking the mountain pass from east to west."

Jun Muzhu casually watered the flowers, a smile curling at the corners of his mouth:

"Not bad thinking. Building walls along the mountain pass can make full use of the terrain of the Three Chiqi Mountains. In the future, the entire Three Chiqi Mountains will be his.

What about food supplies? Any news?"

"The people of Cangqi City have been working on city construction without any abnormalities, and they've added more population, seemingly the families of the soldiers.

In this old servant's view, since he dared to expand the population, it means he's not short of food."

"Oh?"

Jun Muzhu finally stopped watering the flowers, looking curious:

"According to reason, his silver should be used up. How can he remain so calm?"

"Well, this is temporarily unclear."

Jun Muzhu walked back and forth with his hands behind his back, only asking after a long time:

"Have there been any new developments in the nearby cities of Cangqi recently?"

"That's what this old servant wanted to tell Master."

The old butler said softly: "The nearest Fengchuan City has been very lively recently because a tavern named Rain-Listening Pavilion has come out with a good wine, with excellent taste, attracting all the citizens to try it.

My people specially bought a jar. Would Master like to try it?"

"Good wine? That's interesting. Let me try it."

The Jun family was the first family of Bingzhou. What wine hadn't Jun Muzhu tasted? If the old butler said it was good, it must have something special.

The old butler gestured, and immediately a servant brought over a cup of wine. Jun Muzhu took the wine cup and took a sip, his cheeks immediately turning red, coughing continuously:

"Cough, cough, cough."

"Very strong, very fragrant wine."

Jun Muzhu was after all a nobleman's son, not used to the spiciness of Three-Pot Head, but he could taste that this was a top-grade wine with just one sip.

The old butler hurriedly said:

"This wine is called Three-Pot Head. It's said to be brewed by the Rain-Listening Pavilion themselves. In just a few days, it has become popular throughout the city, and its reputation has even reached Bingzhou."

"Brewed themselves? Ha ha."

Jun Muzhu laughed coldly: "If a small tavern had such skills, it would have been famous throughout the three states of Longxi long ago. Why wait until now? This wine must have other origins.

Luo Yu just arrived in Cangqi, and this wine appeared in Fengchuan City. Too coincidental, right?"

"Um, Master means this wine is related to Luo Yu?"

Jun Muzhu suddenly frowned:

"Back in Yungyang Pass, I heard something. Luo Yu used twenty jars of wine to trade twenty warhorses from Battalion Commander Han Shuo. If it were ordinary wine, how could it be worth twenty warhorses?

I bet this wine is definitely from Luo Yu!"

If Luo Yu were here, he would be shocked. Just from some small details, Jun Muzhu could connect them to him. His mind was far superior to ordinary people.

"If it really is from Luo Yu, then he won't have any food supply worries anymore."

The old butler's eyes showed surprise: "That's not good news for us."

"Ha ha, is the wine business that easy?"

Jun Muzhu played with the wine glass in his hand:

"If I remember correctly, the largest tavern in Fengchuan City should be Dingxiang Pavilion, right? The owner is sworn brothers with the Fengchuan City Lord. He once invited me to drink wine.

Now that the Rain-Listening Pavilion has this wine, it will definitely steal their business. Won't Dingxiang Pavilion be jealous?

Go give them a message, tell them where the wine comes from. We don't need to worry about the rest - they'll handle it themselves."

The old butler showed a knowing smile:

"Understood!"

"Three-Pot Head, what a vulgar name."

Jun Muzhu stared at the wine in the cup, taking another sip:

"I want to see how far you can go."