Taiheiki

Chapter 16 Clues
"What's Wei Cong's background?" Cai Buyi said, "At first I thought he was a student at the Imperial College in Beijing. He escaped because of the Party's persecution and didn't want to implicate his family, so he didn't want to reveal his background!"

"Hmm!" Cao Cao nodded. "Judging from his conversation and knowledge, he must be no ordinary person. It's a pity that I'm still young and don't have many friends in the capital, otherwise I would have recognized him. Such talents are like latent dragons, they will never remain buried in the wilderness for long. Once they encounter a turning point, they will soar to the sky!"

"Sir, what you said is quite true! By the way, this Wei Cong is somewhat related to Cao Wujiu's murder!"

"Oh? What's the matter? Tell me!"

"Yes!" Cai Buyi replied, and recounted the story of their first encounter in the mountains, the capture of Zhao Yannian by Wei Cong, and how Zhao Yannian was ambushed by Cao Wujiu's clansmen after being pardoned by the county magistrate, and was subsequently rescued. Cao Cao listened with a solemn expression, and after a long moment of contemplation, he said, "I'm afraid this matter isn't as simple as you make it out to be. Wei Cong had previously captured Zhao Yannian in the mountains, so they must have been enemies. And then he later lent a hand and saved Zhao Yannian in a moment of crisis. Don't you think there's something fishy going on?"

"This..." Cai Buyi was stunned. "But, but I heard from the servants that Wei Cong went out to try out the carriage that day, and happened to meet Zhao Yannian, so he gave him a ride, and then he was surrounded and killed!"

"That's even more wrong!" Cao Cao laughed. "According to what you said, Zhao Yannian is a murderer who murdered an entire family. He and Wei Cong are not only not close friends, but they also have a grudge. If you were in my shoes, would you give him a ride?"

"This..." Cai Buyi was speechless after being asked by Cao Cao. After a while, he shook his head and smiled bitterly, "You are right, sir. I really didn't think so much at the time. So, sir, why do you think this happened?"

"How should I know? But Zhao Yannian must have some secrets, otherwise Wei Cong wouldn't have offered a helping hand!"

"I understand!" Cai Buyi nodded. "As soon as the sun rises that day, I'll send someone to find Zhao Yannian and interrogate him strictly!"

"No!" Cao Cao shook his head. "Who is Wei Cong? You'll only alert the enemy if you do this. After tonight, just pretend you know nothing. Just like before, just follow my lead!"

Cai Buyi was already convinced by this and said respectfully, "I will follow your instructions in everything!"

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The next morning.

The machete was stuck on the bamboo pole again.

Wei Cong frowned in frustration and yanked his sword from the bamboo pole with all his might. He examined the knife marks on the pole and compared them with the ones he remembered Zhao Yannian had made. The blade's tendons weren't straight again! He curled his lips. Almost all ancient peoples emphasized the importance of "sword tendons" in their sword and saber techniques. The reason was simple: many sword and saber moves relied on a single hand, or even the forearm, to generate power. Coupled with the limitations of their weight and length, it was easy for them to strike without being able to penetrate the opponent's armor and inflict sufficient damage.

In close combat, if one side fails to injure or even kill the opponent with a single strike, it often means the opponent's subsequent counterattack will severely injure or even kill them. Therefore, the traditional sword techniques of both the East and the West emphasize long-term training to ensure that the blade is perpendicular to the contact surface when striking the opponent. Only in this way can the enemy be maximally damaged. This is known as the "correct blade tendon." The reason Wei Cong couldn't cut the bamboo pole in half was because he wasn't trained enough. He couldn't strike with the same ease as eating or drinking, always keeping the blade perpendicular to the contact surface when cutting people or objects.

"I still haven't practiced enough!" Wei Cong smiled bitterly. He knew that in ancient battlefields, the most murders were actually caused by spears and bows and arrows, just like the so-called "sword masters" and "sword masters" in ancient Japan who all carried spears on the battlefield. But he didn't intend to be the first to attack and seize the flag. Although the skills of swords and short weapons were not good in battle, he could only rely on them to protect himself at critical moments. After all, no one could carry a spear around.

"Brother Wei got up early!"

Wei Cong turned around and saw Cao Cao standing at the gate, looking at him with a grin. He quickly put away his knife, bowed and said with a smile, "Good morning, Master Cao, I apologize for not coming to greet you."

"Brother Wei and I hit it off right away, so please don't call me Young Master superior or inferior! If Brother Wei doesn't mind my stupidity, then just call me Ah Man!"

"Aman? Shouldn't he be called Mengde?" Wei Cong thought to himself. He looked at the still childish boy in front of him and suddenly remembered that in ancient times, people only got a given name after they turned 18. Cao Cao probably didn't have a given name at his age! He remembered that the history books said that Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, and Yuan Shu were childhood friends. If he could get to know Cao Cao, wouldn't he also be able to get to know the Yuan brothers? The thought of this made him excited.

"Since you say so, sir, I will dare to break the rules!"

"Hahaha!" Cao Cao laughed. "How could this be considered rude? Oh, and I don't know what Brother Wei's courtesy name is?"

"Name?" Wei Cong was stunned for a moment, then he understood and said with a smile, "My name is Meng De!"

"Meng De? Nice name, nice name!" Cao Cao subconsciously felt that the name was quite familiar and praised it casually. His eyes swept over the knife marks on the bamboo and his brows knitted slightly. "Brother Meng De, I heard that you rescued a murderer who was pardoned by the county magistrate a few days ago. Is this true?"

"Not bad!"

"I want to see him!" Cao Cao didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point: "The family he killed had some dealings with my family, and there are some things I want to ask in person!"

"You want to see Zhao Yannian?" Wei Cong knew he couldn't refuse. "That's easy. He's injured and recuperating at my residence outside the city. Just come with me!"

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A villa outside the city.

Zhao Yannian limped and picked up a piece of wood from the firewood pile and put it away. He raised the axe and swung it down with force, breaking the wood into two pieces. He picked up another piece, sweat dripped from his forehead, and the wound that had not yet healed completely felt a burning pain, but this gave him a special pleasure - I am no longer a useless person who can do nothing but killing and setting fires.

More than a month had passed since the ambush at the ferry, and Zhao Yannian had gradually become familiar with and even somewhat fond of his new life. This Wei Langjun—that's what the people in the villa called him—was a very talented man. In addition to the four-wheeled carriage, Zhao Yannian also saw many other novel tools in the villa—a pedal-driven thresher; a pedal-driven high-speed rotating shaft that could be equipped with various blades and used to process various delicate wooden parts, which was convenient and fast; a blower that could produce strong winds with just a hard turn;
What surprised him most was that this Wei Langjun could even smelt iron - he put selected iron ore, charcoal, ground bone meal and oil in a special pottery jar, then sealed it and put it into the fire. After a day and a night, he took out the pottery jar and smashed it. The mixture inside had turned into an iron ingot. The hardness and toughness of this iron were far superior to the common refined iron on the market. The forged steel knife could easily cut a bamboo as thick as a bowl in half.

Any of these techniques would be kept secret by ordinary people as a treasure, passed down to their descendants, but Wei Cong taught them to the craftsmen around him without a care. It seemed that his pleasure was to pass on this valuable knowledge to others, rather than to profit from it. In Zhao Yannian's past experiences, all the smart and talented people he met tried to use tricks and plunder to enrich themselves. He had never seen someone like Wei Cong, let alone thought about it. "Hey, Old Zhao, didn't I tell you? Your wounds haven't fully healed yet, and you're still out chopping wood. Aren't you afraid that the wounds will burst open again?"

Wang Shou complained as he dodged the axe from Zhao Yannian's hand: "Go back to bed quickly, or my husband will scold me again when he comes back and sees me!"

"I'm almost healed. If I lie down any longer, my bones will become weak!" Zhao Yannian said with a smile, "This will loosen up my muscles and bones, so I don't have to eat idle meals!"

"What's wrong with eating for free? There are so many people here, you don't need a pair of chopsticks!" Wang Shou threw the axe aside and said, "If you don't want to lie down anymore, go practice your martial arts. You can draw the bow, pierce the spear, or wield the sword!"

"Draw your bow and pierce your spear?" Zhao Yannian's expression remained unchanged. He heard the hidden meaning in Wang Shou's words: "What's going on? Are we going to fight again?"

"Hmm!" Wang Shou looked around and saw no one around. "Yesterday, I went to the county town to do some work. I saw many people fleeing along the way. When I asked, I found out they were all from the south. Yidao City is under siege again. There's no news from Changsha and Lingling counties to the south. Even Jiangling City is on high alert. A major war is brewing!"

"The Wuling barbarians? They've reached this point? They can no longer be suppressed by the power of Jingzhou alone, and the imperial court doesn't even care?"

"How would I know that?" Wang Shou rolled his eyes. "Anyway, even if the Wuling barbarians can't reach Xinye, with so many refugees from the south arriving, there will definitely be a lot of trouble, and Xinye will never be peaceful. You understand what you should do, right?"

"I understand. Zhao, you saved my life, and I will repay you with my life!"

"That's pretty good. It's worth it that Wei Langjun returned to the car to save you!" Wang Shou said with a smile, and then his face turned serious: "Also, besides him, I also saved you. You can't forget it!" After that, he laughed.

"I will certainly never forget your kindness!" Zhao Yannian laughed, then his expression straightened. "However, in a chaotic situation, it would be difficult for one person to protect himself, let alone help others. The only way is to gather the village clan to protect himself, but you are a stranger and have no roots in Xinye, so this path is definitely not feasible. However, since he has the protection of the Cai family, there is no need to worry too much!"

"Cai family!" Wang Shou snorted coldly, with disdain on his face.

"What's wrong? I see that Cai Buyi is very respectful to Langjun. Is there anything wrong with that?"

"You don't know the real story!" Wang Shou whispered. "Cai Buyi's respect for you has other motives. He thinks you're a Communist Party official who's escaped from the capital, hoping to use this connection to climb the social ladder and rise to prominence. But these days, do you think you've behaved like one of those officials?"

"Well..." Zhao Yannian frowned, trying to compare Wei Cong with the scholar-officials in his mind. Finally, he shook his head. "It's true that they don't look alike, but there are so many scholar-officials in the world. How can they all look the same? Who says someone like you can't be a party scholar-official?"

"You're right, but do you know what? Cai Buyi has been busy these past few days welcoming a nobleman from Luoyang. Obviously, this is for his own future. If he climbs up this high branch, then Langjun will be of no use to him, right?"

Zhao Yannian pursed his lips upon hearing this, and the lines at the corners of his lips deepened, connecting to the recently healed wound on his cheek. He knew how those nobles would treat people and things that were no longer useful to them. He pondered for a moment and asked, "Wang Shou, aren't you Cai Buyi's man? Why do you say such things?"

"My last name is Wang, his is Cai. I'm not one of his followers or guests. I was simply assigned to work for him by the county magistrate when he was trying to apprehend you. Now that you've been apprehended, there's no longer any connection between him and me!" Wang Shou said with a smile, "If that's the case, I'll return sincerity to anyone who treats me sincerely. Isn't that only natural?"

"Whoever treats me sincerely, I will repay him with sincerity." Zhao Yannian chewed on Wang Shou's words, feeling mixed emotions in his heart and was speechless for a while.

"Lang Jun!"

"Mr. Lang is back!"

"you are back!"

Hearing the voices coming from outside, Zhao Yannian hurriedly straightened his clothes and went to meet them. He saw Wei Cong getting off the carriage, followed closely by a young man in a brocade robe. He was dark-skinned, short, and looked about fifteen or sixteen years old. Zhao Yannian hurriedly stopped and knelt to salute Wei Cong.

"I greet you, my lord!"

"Everyone, get up! Go and do your own thing!" Wei Cong waved his hand. He was still not used to others kneeling down to him. Of course, he might never get used to kneeling down to others in his entire life.

"Meng De, your men seem to be working very hard!" Cao Cao said with a smile.

"My people?" Wei Cong laughed. "They are not my people. They are Cai Buyi's people. Even this villa belongs to him. These people are just borrowed to help me do things!"

"Really?" Cao Cao laughed. "But when I was in the carriage, I saw these people weren't being supervised and weren't slacking off much, so I thought they were your men!"

"Oh! They're doing delicate work. Whether they're careful or not depends entirely on their own initiative. Otherwise, no matter how many supervisors there are, it's useless!" Wei Cong casually took a part from a worker busy at a pedal lathe and handed it to Cao Cao: "Look, if this thing is even slightly off, it will be scrap. The supervisor's whip will only make the craftsmen produce more scrap!"

Cao Cao took the part, a deer antler roller. Although he didn't know its specific purpose, he could tell it was very finely crafted. He casually returned the roller to Wei Cong and said with a smile, "You're right, but such a diligent craftsman is hard to find. Meng De, have you ever thought about making these your own?"

(End of this chapter)