Jiuxi

Chapter 679: 677 [Everyone’s Talent Is Used to Their Full Potential]

Dingzhou, Grand Marshal's Office.

On the parade ground, a group of people stood in a row, watching Qin Zilong, who was holding a long sword and wearing armor in the center of the field.

He was seen to be in high spirits, holding a long sword nearly ten feet long in his hand, with a blade about five feet long and sharp edges on both sides.

He looked at the extremely solid wooden stake in front of him, took a deep breath, gripped the blade tightly with both hands, took a step forward, and chopped down with the long sword through the air, with the blade penetrating deep into the wooden stake.

A clerk nearby hurried forward to carefully measure the wood, then turned around and said, "Report to the Grand Commander, this knife has penetrated the wood about two inches!"

Lu Chen said nothing, turned his head and looked at the other two long swords of similar shape on the shelf not far away.

Ever since he decided on the strategy of using heavy-armored infantrymen with long swords to counter the Jing army's cavalry, officials under the Governor's Office urged the Arms Department to summon craftsmen to forge long swords that met Lu Chen's requirements.

The armor equipped by the elite infantry of the Great Qi border army is of very advanced craftsmanship. It is the Qi army's secret weapon for defending its territory. Whether Lu Chen needs lamellar armor or chain mail, it can be made. The only issue that needs to be considered is whether the financial resources can support it. After all, most of the border army soldiers currently wear leather armor, which can only barely resist the long-range concentrated shooting of the Jing army's cavalry.

Lu Chen's idea came from the Tang Mo Dao he knew in his previous life. In fact, he also knew another weapon to deal with cavalry, which was the Song's Divine Arm Bow.

However, apart from knowing that the Divine Arm Bow was actually a crossbow rather than a bow, he knew nothing about the details. Not to mention that the Divine Arm Bow in the previous life had long been lost. It was certainly impossible for him to reproduce it out of thin air. He even asked some experienced craftsmen but got nothing.

The Mo Dao is relatively simple. It is more like an innovation in warfare rather than a simple technical skill.

However, the Arms Department summoned many craftsmen to work together to forge three of the best long swords, but it still could not satisfy Lu Chen.

Li Bingxue, who was standing next to him, said softly, "It's only two inches into the wood, so I'm afraid it won't pose much of a threat to the cavalry."

Among all the people present, she had fought against the Jing Army cavalry the most times, so naturally she had the most say in this matter.

Lu Chen turned his head and looked at Li Bingxue, whose face was slightly pale after recovering from a serious injury, and said calmly: "It is definitely not that easy to make a magic weapon."

He walked up to Qin Zilong, took the hilt from his hand, then pulled out the sword with force, signaling everyone to step back.

The Shangxuan Sutra circulated throughout his body, and strength was poured into his arms. His shoulders sank slightly, and the long sword whizzed out.

"Snapped!"

With a crisp sound, the thick wooden stake was split in half!
Qin Zilong's eyes widened, and Huang Xianfeng, the chief officer of the Governor's Office, praised him sincerely: "The Grand Governor is so brave!"

The rest all applauded loudly.

Li Bingxue looked at his profile and could not help but nod slightly. From this knife, she could tell that Lu Chen's martial arts were no longer what they used to be. Maybe he was still a little worse than Lin Xi's, but he was already slightly better than her.

At this moment, she couldn't help but think of the several competitions they had had in the capital three years ago. At that time, he was no match for her at all, and his speed of improvement could be described as rapid.

However, compared to the cheers and praises from everyone present, Li Bingxue's expression was very calm, because she knew that the higher Lu Chen's martial arts skills, the more obvious the flaws of this long sword would be - the long sword was used by the elite infantry of each army. No matter how elite they were, they could not possess Lu Chen's martial arts. This long sword must be sharp enough to exert its power in the hands of the soldiers, and then be able to confront the Jing army cavalry head-on.

Lu Chen brought the blade in front of him and examined it carefully, his expression slightly solemn. Everyone who noticed this fell silent one after another.

"Master Liu, is this the best long sword right now?"

Hearing Lu Chen's question, the head of the Arms Department named Liu Guangwen hurriedly came forward with a man and said humbly: "Reporting to the Grand Commander, the Arms Department summoned craftsmen to forge long swords according to your request. A total of seven skilled craftsmen forged 16 long swords, and then selected the three with the best quality. This man is called Zhang Hua, and he is from Pangu County, Dongming Prefecture, Dingzhou. His ancestors for three generations were all blacksmiths, and he himself is also the best blacksmith in Dongming Prefecture. These three swords were forged by him."

Lu Chen turned his head and saw a man in his forties with rough skin and a sturdy body kneeling down and bowing, saying, "I am Zhang Hua, a commoner, and I pay my respects to the Grand Commander!"

His etiquette was not standard, but his voice was loud and he did not show any fear, which made him look like a man.

Lu Chen nodded and said, "Get up. Let me ask you, can you make this knife sharper?"

Zhang Hua stood up and asked, "Grand Commander, I wonder how sharp it should be?"

Lu Chen said: "It can not only kill armored soldiers, but also chop war horses."

Zhang Hua was silent for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Grand Commander, this may be difficult to do, unless you replace the long sword with a giant axe."

Liu Guangwen's heart tightened, fearing that this stubborn blacksmith would anger Lu Chen, so he coughed lightly and said, "Zhang Hua, the Grand Commander needs a long sword, so stop talking nonsense here."

"Do I look like such an unreasonable person?" Lu Chen said lightly, causing Liu Guangwen to retreat in fear. He then looked at Zhang Hua and said in a friendly manner, "The giant axe is too heavy, not as light as a long sword. It requires too much from the soldiers. It is difficult for ordinary people to swing it on the battlefield, let alone cause effective damage. That's why I want people to forge sharp long swords. Don't worry, think carefully about whether there is another way."

Zhang Hua was flattered when he heard this, so he replied sincerely: "General, I have been making swords all my life, and the best sword I have ever made is the one in your hand. The blade of this sword weighs eight pounds and two ounces, and it has been tempered fifty times according to the method of frying steel. I really can't make any better, please forgive me, General."

Lu Chen shook his head and said, "You have done your best, what crime have you committed?"

At this time, Liu Yuan, the chief clerk of the Governor's Office, came up to Lu Chen and said, "Grand Governor, may I borrow your sword to see for myself?"

Lu Chen knew that he was not the kind of weak scholar who was powerless, so he handed the long sword to him.

Liu Yuan held the blade in front of his eyes and observed every detail. After a long while, he asked Zhang Hua, "Brother Zhang, I wonder what kind of water you used when quenching it at the end?"

Although Zhang Hua was not clear about the identity of this middle-aged man, he knew that he must be an official of the Governor's Office. However, could such an official also know how to forge swords?

He suppressed his doubts and replied, "Your Excellency, I use mountain spring water."

Liu Yuan asked, "Have you ever tried the water of Hengjiang River?"

Zhang Hua asked in confusion, "Hengjiang River water?"

Liu Yuan said slowly, "More than three hundred years ago, the extraordinary scholar Du Zhan wrote the book "Compilation of Pearls". In Volume 11, there is a passage that says, 'The water of Jing River is dull and weak, and cannot be used for quenching. The water of Heng River is refreshing and fierce, which is the essence of the great gold. This is the gift of God.' Several decades later, the famous craftsman Li Wenzun forged six swords, all of which were quenched with the water of Heng River. He presented them to Emperor Ruizong of Liang and became famous all over the world. It's a pity that Li Wenzun's forging skills were lost, and the six magic swords he presented to Emperor Liang were also destroyed in the war."

Although his words were full of quotations from classics, they were not obscure. Zhang Hua, who was only a beginner in writing, could understand them. He fell into deep thought, and then murmured, "Could it be..."

"The ancient books may not be accurate, but I think it's worth a try. Maybe it really is that mysterious."

As Liu Yuan spoke, he flicked the blade with his fingers and asked, "Brother Zhang, this knife of yours is made by the method of sandwiching steel, right?"

This time, not only Zhang Hua looked surprised, but Lu Chen next to him also looked at Liu Yuan with interest. Li Bingxue, Huang Xianfeng, Huo Zhen, Ye Jitong and others also gathered around.

Zhang Hua nodded and said, "Yes. Nowadays, there are three methods of forging weapons in the world: steel-wrapped, steel-embedded, and steel-clamped. The blade of a weapon forged by the steel-wrapped method is sharp enough, but it cannot be made into a double-edged one, and because only one side of the blade is wrapped with fine steel, it is not very durable. The steel-embedded method is the most commonly used, which is both affordable and simple, but the weapon made is not tough enough and cannot be used for long-term chopping. According to the requirements of the Grand Commander, this knife must be double-edged, easy to chop, and sharp enough, so the steel-clamped method can only be used."

Seeing that Liu Yuan seemed to be confident, Lu Chen asked, "Liu Zhubu, do you know how to forge?"

Liu Yuan bowed his head and said, "To the Grand Commander, I was short of money and had to spend money on books, so I did a lot of odd jobs during the slack season, including helping out in a blacksmith shop, so I know a thing or two about these."

He said it very calmly, as if it was not something to be ashamed of.

Lu Chen said gently: "I see, do you have a good idea to improve this knife?"

Liu Yuan pondered and said, "I remember that there is a chapter on iron smelting in the book Lei Ju. There is a sentence in it that says that the best iron is made by combining various irons or refining them extremely well. In detail, this method is to stack refined irons of different hardness and hardness and forge them repeatedly. The blade forged in this way can extend the double edge and be extremely sharp and tough. Perhaps it can meet the requirements of the Grand Commander."

Lu Chen looked at Zhang Hua and said, "Do you think Liu Zhubu's method is useful?"

"Fine iron stacked on top of each other... repeatedly forged..."

Zhang Hua seemed not to have heard Lu Chen's question. He kept repeating these words as if he had entered a state of trance. At Lu Chen's signal, the others did not interrupt his thoughts.

Soon, the dark-faced man said excitedly: "Master Liu...Master Liu, you are so amazing! Using this method of forging steel and then quenching it with Hengjiang water, you may really be able to forge a magic weapon!"

Seeing Lu Chen's smile, Chief Clerk Huang Xianfeng praised him, "Liu Zhubu is well-versed in history and knowledge, and I am ashamed of myself. Although I have heard of the book "Bianzhu", I have never seen a single copy, and I have never heard of the book "Leiju". Zhubu's profound knowledge is admirable."

Liu Yuan bowed and said, "You are too kind, Mr.

He turned to Lu Chen again and said sincerely: "I only hope to do my part for the great governor."

"You have a heart."

Lu Chen just felt happy. Now all the armies in Dingzhou were drawing elite troops to form heavy armored infantry. The 3,000 infantrymen of the Ruishi Battalion were eagerly waiting. As long as they had long swords in their hands, they could start training.

With this in mind, he said earnestly, "Liu Zhubu, you are fully responsible for forging the swords. Please make sure it is done as soon as possible. This matter is of great importance. If you encounter any difficulties, you can come to me directly."

Liu Yuan bowed and said loudly: "I will obey the order of the Grand Commander! I will definitely live up to your trust!"

(End of this chapter)