Taiheiki

Chapter 105 Iron Zha Armor

"Qiantou, are you saying that the iron furnace has stopped working?" Huang Mazi asked.

"Yes and not entirely!" Qian Wen laughed. "Do you remember before this iron furnace was turned on, the earthen mound next to it was piled high with iron sand and charcoal? Now it's all gone. If the materials are gone, what are we busy with?"

"Then we can also collect iron sand and burn charcoal!" Huang Mazi asked.

"I can tell you're the type who doesn't pay attention!" Qian Wen laughed, "Have you forgotten what we said before we started working? Once this iron furnace starts working, it can't be stopped easily. Iron and charcoal have to be thrown into it day and night. If it stops, something bad will happen! In my opinion, Master Wei probably won't start working again in the short term. He should get more people to work in shifts. Some will burn charcoal, some will collect iron sand, and some will watch the bellows and waterwheel. Everyone will do their job, unlike before when they were so busy and exhausted!"

Qian Wen's words were met with widespread agreement, but Huang Mazi was a bit unconvinced: "Tricking people? How can we trick them? I'm afraid it can't be that easy, right?"

"With Lord Wei's current strength, wouldn't it be easy for him to rob a few Shanyue villages? There are definitely some in the nearby mountains. A few thousand men would be a bit difficult, but three or five hundred wouldn't be a problem!" Someone sneered, "Do you know what I saw at the iron forge today?" He paused briefly, waiting for everyone's attention to be drawn. "Armor, iron armor. At least thirty or forty pieces, and more are being made. The fifth captain is taking a few soldiers to try them out!"

"Iron armor? You're not seeing things, are you? That stuff takes a lot of work. You wouldn't mistake black-painted leather armor for iron armor!"

"That's right, that stuff is incredibly rare. When I was in the army, only the captains of a hundred men could wear it! I heard that each set of armor is made up of hundreds of iron plates, and each plate is forged dozens of times. A set of iron plate armor is enough for a top-notch craftsman and an apprentice to work on for two or three months. Captain Wei only has a few craftsmen under him, and they have to do so much work, how can it be enough!"

"That's right, you must have seen it wrong!"

The man who claimed to have seen the iron armor was annoyed by the ridicule from all sides and shouted angrily, "Who's mistaken? The Fifth Captain tested the armor by having people slash with swords and shoot with bows, but never pierce with spears. I saw with my own eyes a sword strike, sparks flew, but the person was unharmed. How could leather armor be so powerful? It must be iron armor. You say it's impossible? But who of you could have imagined that we could pull so much iron sand out of the water? Just over 400 people could smelt so much fine iron and forge so many knives and farm tools?"

Faced with the man's rebuttal, the room suddenly fell silent, and everyone showed a thoughtful expression. Unconsciously, the ironclad facts had quietly changed them. After a while, someone habitually asked, "Qiantou, what do you think?"

"Ah!" Qian Wen sighed, "That kid Ah Cheng's death was truly not worth it!"

"Ah Cheng?" Everyone was stunned at the mention of this, then realized Qian Wen was referring to the man who had previously plotted to seize the ship and escape, only to be executed by hanging his head at the camp gate after being reported. Looking back, that was completely unnecessary. Staying here was clearly far better than fleeing with the ship, where he would face the consequences of his actions. While Wei Cong's men currently numbered only a few hundred, they were all veterans of battle, knowing the stark difference between armor and no armor on the battlefield. It wasn't uncommon for elite soldiers clad in iron armor to defeat thousands, or even tens of thousands, of unarmored hordes. With Wei Cong's current strength, he could easily sweep across Yuzhang County, arming tens of thousands of men. Given the court's current precarious situation, he could easily secure a peace agreement. Even Ah Cheng himself, if he had known that Wei Cong would unearth so much refined iron and ironware in a month or so, he wouldn't have been able to dislodge him even with a whip. Those accomplices who were whipped will now only curse Ah Cheng for harming them, and be glad that they did not succeed in escaping. They will never blame You Weicong for executing them.

"This is fate. Ah Cheng is not destined to have this blessing!" someone sighed.

"Yeah, it's obvious that everything will be clear if he just holds on for another month or so, but he just can't hold on any longer!"

"Fortunately, the general was merciful and only chopped off his head. The others were only whipped twenty times!"

"Yes, according to military law, desertion is punishable by a cane at the very least. Only twenty lashes is a great exception. Many people recover almost completely after seven or eight days of rest!"

"I don't know what the general is planning. He's just sitting there like this, and his bones are getting soft!"

"Weren't you complaining about being tired a few days ago? Why are you dissatisfied with your free time?"

"It's mainly because I was so exhausted the past few days. I was running around the furnace wheel all day, and I fell asleep as soon as I lay down after work. I even forgot to eat! But now that I feel so relaxed, I feel a little guilty!"

"So, you are destined to be a toiler! The higher-ups will naturally arrange when to be idle and when to be busy. Don't you think the captain understands it better than you?"

Listening to his companions' arguments by the fire, Qian Wen sighed softly and walked to the window, watching the drizzle outside. Before he knew it, he had already been a spy for three months. Secretly monitoring his companions wasn't pleasant, but he had no choice. Judging from the current outcome, this was at least the best solution for everyone.

"Qiantou, look, there's a boat coming up the river. It's a rare visitor!"

"Oh?" Qian Wen looked out at the river and saw a sailboat sailing upstream, heading towards the camp. He quickly identified it and said, "This must be the boat that went to the county town a few days ago to sell ironware. I didn't expect it to be back so soon!"

"Maybe business is going smoothly, so it's naturally faster!"

"Yeah!" Qian Wen nodded: "It's fine as long as it's convenient, it's fine as long as it's convenient!"

As the boat approached, Qian Wen suddenly frowned: "No!"

"What's wrong?"

"Look at that ship, its draft is so shallow, it's obviously coming back empty. Even if it's all for copper coins, it can't be so light, right? Not to mention the purchase of some goods needed for the camp!" Qian Wen paused and said, "Forget it, I'll go out and take a look!"

When Qian Wen arrived at the dock, the boat was already close to the pier. As soon as the gangplank was lowered, Huang Ping jumped off the boat in two steps and asked directly, "Where is my husband?"

"It should be at the blacksmith workshop!" replied the young leader who came to receive the boat.

"Keep an eye on the boat, don't let anyone else get on!" Huang Ping shouted, and hurried to the iron forge.

Iron wrought iron workshop.

"It feels okay when I put it on!" Wei Cong tried to move his limbs and jumped twice. The iron armor on his body made a crisp clattering sound. "But my armpits and neck are still not protected!"

"The neck needs a neck protector. As for the armpits, as long as you put your arms down, it is usually difficult to hurt there. If you cover everything, it will be too heavy!" explained the craftsman next to him.

"Hmm!" Wei Cong reached out and touched it. "Then let's make it according to this pattern from now on! I think we should have enough raw materials, right?"

"We have enough iron sheets, ropes, and everything else, but we're short of leather for the armor lining!"

"Okay, then when the weather clears up in a few days, we'll organize a hunt. I see there are plenty of wild boars and deer around here. Not only can they be used to line our armor, but they can also improve our food supply!"

Wei Cong was speaking happily when Diwu Deng came in from outside and whispered something in his ear. The smile on his face immediately disappeared: "What, the goods were seized? Let him in, yes, right away!"

A moment later, Huang Ping entered. He bowed to Wei Cong, but Wei Cong waved his hand away, "Why are you being so formal at this moment? Tell me, what's going on?"

"Yes!" Huang Ping responded and recounted his experience in Yuhan County. Wei Cong did not speak, but frowned and thought hard.

After a while, he asked, "You said that He Ji Iron Shop paid for the goods, placed an additional order, and then the government archers arrived right after? Is that what happened?"

"That's right, as soon as the people from Heji Iron Shop left, the government archers arrived!" Huang Ping replied.

"Is it possible that He Ji Iron Shop is colluding with the county magistrate? After all, this way He Ji Iron Shop doesn't have to pay?"

"I think it's possible, but I don't have any concrete evidence!"

"He is a local tyrant. How could he possibly give you any concrete evidence for such a thing?" Wei Cong laughed.

"That's right, my dear!" Huang Ping nodded. "Then how should we respond?"

"Let's first see if Zhu An is involved!" Wei Cong whispered, "Let's wait and see what happens. Once everything is clear, we can find the culprits and the debts. We must not let go of any good person, nor any bad guy!"

"Here!" Huang Ping looked up in surprise. He hadn't expected Wei Cong to act so calm, even a little weak. Wei Cong saw through his subordinate's thoughts and smiled. "We're not short of money or food right now, but we're still too short on manpower. Let's start with the surrounding areas! Starting with those small, mixed-use areas with just three or five households, relocate everyone we can to the camp, and replace our people from those hard labor positions. Then we can get the furnaces started again and discuss the next step!"

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Huang Ping's return was like an invisible hand, re-winding the camp's clockwork and reigniting everyone's tension. Unlike before, however, the men were no longer busy felling trees, scavenging iron sand, building fires, or smelting iron. Instead, they were engaged in hunting and training. The workshops hummed with the clanging of weapons, and weapons and arrows flowed out like a stream. The veteran men immediately recognized this as a sign of impending battle. Qian Wen and his former captives were also dispersed and incorporated into the army. Everyone was eagerly awaiting the order to march.

As the mastermind behind all this, Wei Cong felt like he was playing a Paradox game: observing the resource bar at hand, calculating how many population units he could support, squeezing out the necessary manpower and resources, walking a tightrope without provoking a riot. The difference was that what he waved his fingers over were no longer rows of electronic data, but real people. After more than half a month of turmoil, more than thirty thatched huts had sprung up on the edge of the camp, housing over a hundred forcibly relocated people. Each family was allocated fifty mu of farmland, two mu of residential land, two bolts of cloth, and two thousand coins for moving expenses. Of course, their fields and homes were still overgrown with trees, and their main job was to cut down the trees, using the wood they harvested as vouchers for their monthly food rations, while also clearing the land for their own farmland and homes. Wei Cong planned to handle the newly brought in population in the same way. After all, the cut wood could be used for making charcoal or drying it for shipbuilding, so the more the better. Once this river valley was developed, it would cover an area of 40 to 50 square kilometers, all flat land with convenient irrigation, enough to accommodate tens of thousands of households and prepare for the next step of developing the copper mine.

From Diwu Deng and Liu Jiu to the surrendered soldiers from Yuzhang, everyone thought Wei Cong's "population collection" was justified. Some even thought the "general" was too soft-hearted, as he even had to build houses in advance. For these "wild refugees" who were not on the list, he simply tied them up with ropes and let them build their own straw huts. Some even suggested attacking the registered villages, burning the fields and houses, rewarding the soldiers with the property, and then driving out the strangers and sweeping them all in. This would increase the population much faster and also be a good revenge for the government's confiscation of ironware. Faced with these suggestions from his subordinates, Wei Cong couldn't help but sigh that whenever he felt that he was becoming more and more shameless, his subordinates would immediately open his eyes. They were really a group of tigers and wolves.

That evening, Wei Cong finally finished his work and yawned as he returned to his quarters. His back ached terribly, and he was just thinking about asking Ayun for a good massage that evening. Suddenly, he noticed something was amiss. The house was incredibly quiet. On a normal day, Ayun would have been at the door to greet him upon his arrival, offering a facial compress, a hot towel, and warm shoes. But today, he'd already entered the inner chambers, and there was no sign of her. Could she be ill?

"Where is Ayun?" Wei Cong asked the maid in the inner house next to him.

"Madam lay down in the inner room in the afternoon and didn't come out!" said the maid.

"Oh?" Wei Cong suddenly became nervous. There were no antibiotics these days, and even a minor illness could kill someone. "What's going on? Have you called a doctor to take a look?"

"No, Madam said she was just feeling a little lazy and didn't want to move, so she told us not to call the doctor!"

"Nonsense!" Wei Cong suddenly became anxious: "How can you be careless about your health? Go call a doctor immediately, I'll go take a look first!"

"Yes!" the maid replied. Wei Cong hurried across the courtyard and into the inner room, saying, "Ayun, why don't you see a doctor if you're not feeling well? Be careful not to let a minor illness develop into a serious one. This is in the wilderness, and if something goes wrong, it could be very troublesome!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a soft laugh came from the bed. Wei Cong was startled, thinking that the voice didn't sound like Ayun's. In the light of the oil lamp, he could see the curtains on the bed were drawn, and behind the gauze curtains, a woman was sitting on the bed. The laugh just now must have come from her.

(End of this chapter)