"I am willing to lend out twenty thousand piculs of grain for military provisions, is that enough?"
"You are quite adept at calculations. Ten thousand troops would be enough, but have you forgotten the rations for the laborers?"
"Ah? Laborers too?"
"What? Do you expect my elite soldiers to gather firewood and cook their own meals daily? Or perhaps carry their own supplies?"
Fang Er was dumbfounded.
He had truly forgotten about this matter.
"Then how many laborers does Your Majesty plan to conscript?"
Fang Er, not understanding this, could only ask for clarification.
"In military campaigns, for every elite soldier, at least three laborers are required. This time, it is unlike previous times, relying primarily on explosive satchels and artillery. Thus, at least five laborers are needed per soldier. So, fifty thousand!"
Li Er extended a palm towards Fang Er.
Fang Er's mouth gaped open, capable of fitting an egg.
Was this fellow planning to send out all the refugees to tag along with the soldiers and eat their fill?
Fifty thousand laborers. These were all people contributing their labor, and their rations should be at least comparable to soldiers during peacetime, which was about one and a half jin of refined grain per day.
That's another sixty-five thousand jin per day.
Per month, damn it!
That's over two million jin.
This is truly a drain on resources! No wonder when I watched television in my previous life, ancient wars often involved hundreds of thousands of troops, and provisions were calculated in millions of piculs!
This is incredibly expensive!
"Then, shall I contribute forty thousand piculs of grain?"
Fang Er tentatively asked.
He wasn't sure if it would be enough, fearing Li Er might bring up yet another item.
"But when engaging in battle, one horse is not enough. My elite soldiers are all equipped with two horses per person."
Li Er picked up his teacup, concealing his smile.
He had to admit, this Fang Anzhi truly knew nothing about military strategy.
"Another ten thousand horses?"
This is going to cost an extra 1.5 million jin of consumption per month!
"Your Majesty, just tell me directly how much you need. I will find a way. With your requests coming from left and right, I don't know how much is actually needed."
Fang Er, looking constipated, spread his hands and said to Li Er.
"One hundred thousand piculs! We cannot only consider the expenses for attacking Liang Shidu, but also the grain for conquering Goguryeo if things go smoothly. Therefore, at least one hundred thousand piculs! This is just for refined grain. As for fodder, I will let the Ministry of War figure it out."
Li Er's request was for a hundred thousand piculs.
Hiss!
Fang Er gasped.
At this point, he decided to just give up and accept it, as he was the one who had initiated this.
Upon returning to Fang Family Village, Fang Er began making arrangements for the mass production of cannons.
The craftsmen from the Ministry of Works had already received the order and were in the process of being deregistered. They would arrive tomorrow.
With some time remaining, Fang Er called over Niu Liang and a few others to create the casting molds for the cannons.
First, a life-size model of a cannon was to be made from wood.
Then, this model would be used to create the molds.
After applying a layer of oil and wax, the clay for mold making was filled into the cannon barrel. Once the clay mold dried, the wooden barrel was opened, and an inner core was created.
The same method was used to create the outer clay shell.
With the clay shell and the inner core placed together, a cannon mold was formed.
The advantage of this method was that the cannons could be made to consistent sizes, and the same cannonballs could be used.
The next day, Eunuch Deng delivered twenty blacksmiths to the workshop. After a brief chat with Fang Er, he departed.
As soon as the blacksmiths entered the workshop, they were stunned by the scene before them.
Countless refugees, with smiles on their faces, were working on the construction site, doing what they could.
Rows of houses were taking shape at a visible pace.
Along the three-mile road from Fang Family Village to the workshop, people were working everywhere.
A narrow path, which could only accommodate two people walking side by side, had been widened to five meters, and it was being repeatedly compacted by refugees pulling rollers over it.
Cheng Chumou and Yuchi Baolin, leading five hundred soldiers, were patrolling back and forth between Fang Family Village and the workshop.
This scene was even more lively than the Ministry of Works!
After the blacksmiths introduced themselves.
Fang Er divided them into two teams. One team was responsible for casting the cannon barrels, and the second team was responsible for polishing and inspecting the cannons.
The captain of the first team was a former foreman from the Ministry of Works, named Zhao Gang.
The captain of the second team was also a foreman, named Ma Shan.
Following Fang Er's explanations, they quickly accepted this manufacturing method called "cannon."
To them, it was much easier than wielding hammers before.
The craftsman workshop was operating at full capacity!
In the previous half-month, all the iron ingots had been smelted into steel.
The steel ingots were once again melted into molten steel.
They were poured into the molds.
Cooling, chilling, demolding, forming.
Cannons were mounted on frames, pushed onto the open ground, polished, and then covered with oilcloth.
From the eighth day onwards.
A large area was cleared.
Cheng Chumou and Yuchi Baolin also rushed over.
They had handed over their patrol duties to others.
These two were eager to try out the cannons after hearing from Fang Er that they were being manufactured, so they came to request a trial firing.
In just eight days, thirteen cannons had been produced.
It had to be said, these blacksmiths' skills were excellent!
They only lacked guidance and innovation.
With Fang Er, an eighth-level craftsman, leading them, their progress was incredibly rapid.
Moreover, the treatment Fang Er provided them after arriving here was beyond their wildest dreams.
Two taels of silver per month, three meals provided, and additional rewards for the items they produced.
Take these cannons, for example. For every qualified cannon produced, there was a reward of one tael of silver.
Of course, this one tael of silver was divided among the twenty blacksmiths.
Each person received fifty copper coins! That was enough to buy two jin of meat!
Therefore, everyone worked as if their lives depended on it.
In their daily interactions with Fang Er, they respectfully called him "Mr. Fang."
The thirteen cannons were polished until they gleamed like mirrors, lined up on the open ground.
Zhao Hu and the others loaded the ammunition and retreated to the side.
Cheng Chumou and Yuchi Baolin, along with eleven soldiers, stood behind the cannons, holding torches.
"Light them!"
At Fang Er's command.
The torches ignited the fuses.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Due to variations in loading and fuse lengths, the fuses burned at different rates.
The thirteen cannons fired in succession.
Thirteen massive iron balls shot out from the cannon mouths, landing three to four hundred meters away. Upon impact, they bounced violently, creating craters in the ground and kicking up dust.
"Awesome! With these things, attacking a city will be a piece of cake!"
"Being able to blow open a city gate from three to four hundred meters away, hahahaha, just thinking about it is exhilarating!"
Yuchi Baolin and Cheng Chumou exclaimed with delight.
"Are these the things we made in these past few days?"
"This is simply terrifying!"
"This has traveled almost a li!"
This was the first time the blacksmiths had witnessed the power of cannons.
They were shocked by the items they had created.