Chapter 337: Urgent
The next day.
Early in the morning, people came from the blacksmith camp.
The Armoury Department of the Ministry of War personally brought the Minister of War to find Jiang Lin.
"Master Jiang, the Minister has ordered that within ten days, the Da Gan Blacksmith Camp will forge one million feather arrows, three hundred thousand long swords, and one hundred and fifty thousand spears. This is extremely urgent and there can be no mistakes!"
The clerk of the Ordnance Department was of the seventh rank, but there was still a huge gap between him and Jiang Lin.
He also knew the position of this person in the border army, and added: "Marshal Hong was ambushed and defeated by the ten archers of the Western Yi in the northwest border. Marshal Meng led his troops to rescue him, and there must be a fierce battle. His Majesty is furious. This matter is of great importance. Lord Jiang must hurry up and don't delay."
Jiang Lin was stunned when he heard this. He vaguely remembered that he had just arrived at the blacksmith camp a month ago and was still an apprentice in the fire-making area when Zhao Yangkui roared that thieves from Dachen and Daliang had invaded and that the Foundry had taken on a large order.
Those things seemed to have happened not long ago, and now, I am the one who receives the order.
Less time, more tasks.
One million feather arrows, three hundred thousand long swords, and one hundred and fifty thousand spears are definitely not small numbers.
Although the current skill level and efficiency of weapon forging in the Dagan Blacksmith Camp have improved a lot compared to the past, it is still a heavy task.
Jiang Lin had no intention of shirking his responsibility. Regardless of whether he and the court would end up on opposite sides of each other, at least at this moment, he had to rely on the Dagan Dynasty as a barrier to guard against unknown risks.
If Da Gan fails, he may not be able to rest in peace.
Jiang Lin nodded and said solemnly: "Reporting to the Minister, within ten days, one million feather arrows, three hundred thousand long swords, and one hundred thousand spears must be completed!"
"I feel relieved with Lord Jiang's words. I will bring people to pick it up in ten days. Goodbye." The clerk of the Ordnance Department bowed.
Jiang Lin bowed and watched him leave.
At this time in the blacksmith camp, many people had just gotten up.
Qi the blacksmith, who always got up earlier than others, saw the people from the Armoury Department coming and going, and knew something was wrong, so he ran over and asked, "Sir, what happened?"
Jiang Lin took a deep breath and said, "The border troops in the northwest are fighting with the Western Barbarians. Without the two generals, it seems a bit dangerous. The Ministry of War asked us to forge one million feather arrows, 300,000 long swords, and 100,000 spears within ten days."
Blacksmith Qi was stunned and asked subconsciously, "So many?"
Jiang Lin said in a deep voice, "It is extremely urgent. We have to do it no matter how much or how little. Please ask Master Qi to wake everyone up immediately and gather them in front of the dining tent."
Whether it was the tone, expression, or words, Qi the Blacksmith could hear something unquestionable.
He quickly cupped his hands and said, "Yes, I will wake them all up now!"
Turning around and running towards the house, Blacksmith Qi thought to himself that when Zhao Yankui was the master chef, although he was also very strict, he was not as domineering as Lord Jiang.
The little apprentice who used to call Master Qi has really grown up now.
It's not like he had any complaints, as Blacksmith Qi knew clearly what this order meant.
Every time weapons are manufactured in large quantities, a major war is bound to happen or has already occurred.
Such things were common and not surprising during the more than 400 years of conquest history of the Dagan Dynasty.
Blacksmith Qi knocked on the doors of every house, called out to a group of people, and then ordered them to disperse and call other people.
Before long, tens of thousands of blacksmiths were called out.
Jiang Lin stood in front of the dining tent. After the blacksmiths and apprentices had gathered, he spoke: "I believe you have heard about this mission. It is very important. If you fail to complete it, the Ministry of War will definitely blame you. From now on, everyone will be assigned a task. Those who fail to complete it in one day will have their monthly salary deducted and be demoted to an apprentice! Those who fail to complete it in two days will be expelled from the blacksmith camp!"
Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. This punishment was indeed severe.
Being demoted to an apprentice is a small matter, but losing face is a big matter, not to mention being expelled from the blacksmith camp.
The four major blacksmith camps had never received such a punishment before.
Jiang Lin said in a low voice, "Everyone, remember, only when Dagan is here can this blacksmith camp exist. Only when Dagan is safe can we be safe! If you don't do a good job, the Ministry of War might come and chop off your heads. But if you do a good job, I will go to the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of War and ask for rewards for you! The minimum is 60 taels of silver per person, and 15 taels for apprentices. If they don't give enough, I will make up for it!"
"It is only natural that the Ministry of War needs weapons, but we cannot let you work in vain!"
After hearing the above words, many blacksmiths and apprentices complained bitterly. With so much work to do, everyone would probably have to be busy from morning to night without a break.
But when Jiang Lin mentioned the matter of silver at the end, especially the fifty taels per person, if it was not enough he would make up for it, it immediately caused countless people to cheer.
If you earn fifty taels in ten days, wouldn’t that be one hundred and fifty taels in a month?
That’s comparable to the salary of a master chef today!
The elite blacksmiths were fine. Each of them had earned more than ten thousand or twenty thousand taels of silver in recent months, so they didn't look down on these fifty taels of silver.
But for ordinary blacksmiths, especially apprentices, it is a great gift.
This is clearly their job, but they can get extra money for it, who wouldn't be happy?
It’s a bit hard, but it only lasts ten days.
Qi the blacksmith and hundreds of other masters bowed their hands and shouted, "We will serve Master Jiang even if we die!"
Jiang Lin nodded slightly and waved his hand, saying, "Eat first, and then start working after you finish eating!"
Afterwards, Jiang Lin called over a few mess managers and ordered them, "From now on, serve more oily food so that the cooks can eat their fill. If anyone says they're hungry while working, I'll settle the score with you!"
The stewards nodded quickly and said, "Don't worry, Master Jiang. We will go buy meat right away. Buy more meat!"
Jiang Lin waved his hand and ignored them.
He walked among the blacksmiths and apprentices who were eating, patting one of them on the shoulder from time to time, reminding them to eat more, or saying something like "Thank you for your hard work in the future."
He is clearly a fourth-rank Zuo Si Shi and a master of the Divine Martial Realm. No matter which identity he is, he is a big shot that these people usually don't even dare to look up to.
But now, it is like a warm breeze on people's faces, and the kind attitude has moved some apprentices who have just arrived to tears.
Even at home, their parents had never been so polite to them.
An apprentice suddenly stood up and shouted to Jiang Lin, "Master Jiang, am I as powerful as you?"
Everyone knows that it's impossible.
Lord Jiang's talent has surpassed that of the great blacksmith master, and no one can compare to him.
But no one said anything, especially the apprentices, who were all watching eagerly.
Jiang Lin turned around and looked at the young man with a childish face, expectant and somewhat nervous eyes.
He smiled slightly and nodded, "As long as you work hard, you can do it."
Jiang Lin swept his eyes over the others one by one and said again: "Perhaps talents vary, but hard work can make up for shortcomings. Ironmaking is a job that requires steady progress. I believe that every one of you can do it!"
In another world, these words would be a very standard inspirational quote.
But in this world, which blacksmith has ever heard of it?
Especially for the apprentices, what they heard most was being called stupid, not understanding, where is the brain, blind and so on.
Many people are so embarrassed after being scolded that they are extremely cautious every time they do things for fear of making mistakes.
And Jiang Lin, the great man whose blacksmithing skills were unmatched, now said that each of them could do the same thing.
"Really? Is it really possible?" The young apprentice was shaking with excitement: "But, I'm stupid..."
"Do you believe me?" Jiang Lin looked at him and asked.
"Of course I believe it!" The young apprentice nodded heavily.
Jiang Lin hummed and said, "And I also believe you can do it."
The young apprentice was stunned for a moment, seemingly unable to react. It was not until Jiang Lin turned around and continued to walk away that he suddenly understood the meaning of this sentence.
Facing Jiang Lin's back, the young apprentice shouted: "Master, you will never be wrong! I can do it!"
After saying that, he sat down heavily and ate his food in big mouthfuls.
In today's Dagan Blacksmith Camp, apprentices can already eat at the table, but the camp is divided into the blacksmith area and the apprentice area.
All around were apprentices of the same youth. Although they did not speak, each of them had a flushed face and eyes full of excitement.
When you are in your teens, you know nothing, yet you know a little bit about everything, and your ambitions are as high as the sky.
After Jiang Lin fed them some chicken soup, these young men felt as if they had been injected with chicken blood.
The blacksmiths had not finished their meal yet, but they had already finished their food one by one and rushed to the blacksmith shop.
Many blacksmiths were stunned, but Qi the Blacksmith slammed the empty bowl and chopsticks on the table and said in a deep voice: "You can't even beat the apprentice?"
These words made the group of blacksmiths blush. Yes, how could a master be worse than his apprentice?
Regardless of whether there was room in their mouths or not, they quickly shoveled the food in, then got up and ran to the blacksmith shop.
Everyone was shouting and yelling incoherently, no one wanted to fall behind.
The lower you are in the social hierarchy, the more you care about these seemingly meaningless things, which may even seem funny to many people.
Not long after, Zhao Yankui and others hurried over from the Foundry Department. They had just received orders from the Ministry of Industry and learned that they had taken on a big job.
Yan Tianrong was worried that Jiang Lin would not be able to arrange it as it was his first time taking on such a job, so he ordered them to come over immediately to help.
As a result, when they arrived at the Dagan Blacksmith Camp, they only heard the sound of clanging one after another.
I ran to the blacksmith shop and saw that it was already busy inside.
"Pig iron! Is the pig iron ready? I have finished making this knife!"
"Change the water quickly, hurry up!"
"Where's the charcoal?"
“Hurry up!”
Zhao Yankui, Yuan Gaohao and other deputy engineers looked at each other in bewilderment. This scene was not chaotic at all.
Although there was a lot of yelling and noise, there was also a different kind of orderliness.
Qi the blacksmith and hundreds of other master craftsmen divided the entire blacksmith shop into more than a hundred grids, with each person responsible for inspecting and directing a section.
Several elite blacksmiths are assigned to lead the grid. In this way, each person is responsible for less things, so it won't appear messy.
Yuan Gaohao was amazed and couldn't help but say to Zhao Yankui: "It seems like we came here for nothing?"
(End of this chapter)
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