Chapter 50: Lying on Firewood, Tasting Gall to Forge a Mighty Army

The scarred-faced man left with that fragile agreement, leaving behind not peace but an invisible, temporary truce charm.

Everyone in Jiao Tu Zhen knew that this time bought with humiliation was filled with urgency at every moment.

On the surface the town resumed its usual labor, but internally the rhythm suddenly quickened, and the air was filled with a silent smell of gunpowder.

The entire Jiao Tu Zhen was like a strong bow slowly being drawn, accumulating deadly power in silence.

Chen Wen directed the full weight of his eightfold ability, without reservation, onto the core task of 'war preparation'.

His figure was like an untiring top, appearing at every key corner of the town.

The workshop area became the first 'mutated' zone.

The furnace fire burned day and night; the bellows' wails and the hammer's clangs intertwined into an uplifting melody.

Shi Dun's eyes were bloodshot, yet he was spirited, for Chen Wen brought not only immense production pressure but also astonishing efficiency gains.

"Shi Dun, prioritize making spearheads from the available iron! Follow the design I drew—structure simplified, but blade lengthened, better for piercing!"

Chen Wen quickly sketched an improved spearhead design on the ground with a stick.

His eightfold visual memory and structural analysis ability let him easily optimize existing designs.

"Also, the casting of arrowheads must form a production line!"

"You are in charge of casting the blanks; assign two apprentices to specialize in grinding the edges, and another three to install the shafts and fletching!"

"Each to his duty, no interruption allowed!"

He applied the assembly-line concept to military production, greatly boosting efficiency.

【Efficient organization of military production, optimizing weapon design, production efficiency increased (8x bonus)! Diligence Points (WP) +150!】

【Current WP: 7831】

Under Chen Wen's eightfold insight guidance and his personal involvement, the workshop's production efficiency surged.

Originally only a few spearheads and dozens of arrowheads could be made per day; now output has increased severalfold.

The piled iron turned into gleaming weapons at a visible speed.

Moreover, Chen Wen instructed the artisans to use the captured Black Wind Stronghold leather armor and homemade thick cloth.

They attempted to make simple leather-laminated cloth armor; although its protection was limited, it was better than nothing.

The drill ground was another kind of 'purgatory'.

Zhang Cheng fully implemented Chen Wen's guiding idea: 'sweat more in peacetime, bleed less in war'.

He raised the militia's training intensity to the limit.

And Chen Wen's presence pushed this intensity to inhuman heights.

He no longer merely instructed tactics; he personally took the field to engage in combat practice.

His eightfold reaction speed, strength, and grasp of combat opportunities let him alone simulate the pressure of a small battlefield.

He would sometimes ghost-like burst into the ranks, demonstrating how to find gaps in the defense;

sometimes he would command a small 'enemy force' to test the militia's adaptability and coordination.

"Too slow! When you thrust your spear, engage your waist and abdomen simultaneously! Watch me!"

Chen Wen held a wooden stick, executed a thrust as fast as lightning, and the wind it raised made the opposing militia's scalps tingle.

"Three-man team! Remember your coordination! Block, thrust, supplement! Act as one! Again!"

"There's no fairness on the battlefield! If enemy cavalry charges, your scattered formation is suicide! Form a circular formation!"

Each word he shouted struck like a heavy hammer on the militia's hearts.

Sweat, dirt, and even occasional bloodstains soaked everyone's clothing.

Fatigue and muscle soreness tormented their bodies, but under Chen Wen's near-cruel precise guidance and his leading-by-example motivation, no one complained; they only gritted their teeth and persisted.

Because they knew their leader was more exhausted than they, and that each extra drop of sweat increased their future survival odds on the battlefield.

【High-intensity military training, practical drills, militia combat power significantly increased (8x bonus)! Diligence Points (WP) +200!】

【Current WP: 8031】

City defense construction proceeded simultaneously.

The wooden walls were further heightened and reinforced, with key sections filled with earth and stone to enhance resistance.

Based on his eightfold terrain analysis ability, Chen Wen directed the laborers to dig pits of varying depth outside the walls, setting up camouflaged cheval de frise and iron caltrops.

He also designed a simple arrow-tower module that could be quickly installed and removed, allowing rapid enhancement of local firepower in wartime.

On the logistics side, Aunt Wang led the women and children in a frantic stockpiling effort.

Food was carefully stored; wild vegetables and dried fish were mass-produced by sun-drying, and they even began attempting to make more preservable fried noodles using folk methods.

The medical team worked overtime processing herbs, making trauma medicine and hemostatic packs.

The whole Jiao Tu Zhen was like a precise and efficient war machine, running frenziedly under the drive of Chen Wen, this eightfold-capable 'core processor'.

By day, it was fervent production and training;

At night, it was silent reinforcement of defenses and transfer of supplies.

That outwardly relaxed but inwardly tense atmosphere let every townsman clearly feel that beneath the calm surface lay surging undercurrents.

The enormous workload and mental pressure, like a heavy burden on Chen Wen's shoulders, he bore it thanks to his eightfold stamina and willpower.

His figure grew ever thinner, but his gaze grew ever sharper, like a piece of steel forged through a thousand hammerings.

And the ever-jumping WP number in his mind quietly approached a critical point.

The system interface even began showing subtle hint fluctuations, foreshadowing the imminent next upgrade.

But Chen Wen merely glanced at it lightly, then cast it behind his mind.

Now, it is not yet the time.

He poured all his energy into this life-and-death preparation racing against time before him.

The night was deep; Chen Wen alone inspected the newly reinforced northern wooden wall.

His fingers brushed over the rough wooden surface, and he could feel the sweat and determination contained within.

In the distance, the workshop's furnace fire had not yet died out, and on the drill ground, the shouts of battle from the day seemed to still echo.

"Liu Du Tou…… the tribute you want, we are 'carefully' preparing it."

Chen Wen gazed at the dark silhouette in the distance, murmuring to himself, a hint of a stern curve appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"I only hope that when the time comes, you won't be startled by this 'great gift'."

Jiao Tu Zhen honed its claws and fangs in the silence, waiting for a storm that was destined to come.

And the tranquility before the storm's arrival is often the most oppressive, yet also the most full of power.