The First Killer God of the Tang Dynasty

As he spoke, Zhang Yang took out a bag of loose silver and copper coins from his person and placed it on the table.

Upon seeing the silver, the blacksmith Sun paused for a moment.

"Wow, kid, you've struck it rich? So much money?"

"The brothers chipped in to make a few bows and some arrowheads. Even if we don't run into any thieves, we can use them to hunt in the mountains and get some game. Don't worry, Uncle Sun, you'll definitely get your share whenever we catch any game."

Although it's true that making weapons for the imperial court can be profitable.

However, as the war worsened, he received less and less cash.

Most of them are just IOUs.

The money Zhang Yang gave wasn't a lot, but it was enough to live on for a while.

After thinking for a while, Sun the blacksmith nodded.

"Alright, considering our friendship over the years, I'll make you a few bows. Even if we run into the police, it won't matter. Just say you're using them for hunting."

Zhang Yang beamed with joy when he heard that the blacksmith Sun was willing to make him a bow and arrow.

He then took out the blueprints for the recurve bow from his pocket and handed them to the blacksmith, Sun.

Looking at the blueprints, Sun the blacksmith frowned slightly, looking puzzled.

"What is this?"

Zhang Yang chuckled and explained, "The recurve bow is a new type of bow that I developed. It's very powerful. Just follow the instructions on this bow. However, you have to use good quality wood for me. This bow is very strong, and soft or low-quality wood will break easily."

Sun the blacksmith looked at Zhang Yang with suspicion.

This kid, I haven't seen him for a few days, and he's already researching new weapons.

You can't judge a book by its cover, and you can't measure the sea with a bushel.

However, Sun the blacksmith still issued a disclaimer.

"Okay, then I'll make it according to your drawings. But we have an agreement: if it's unusable, you can't say I'm bad at it."

"Don't worry, there's absolutely nothing wrong with my bow."

Zhang Yang said with a confident expression.

Immediately afterwards, Sun the blacksmith began to study the arrowheads that Zhang Yang had requested.

Unlike the arrows he had made for the army before, these had three edges.

"What is this thing again? Zhang Yang, why do you always get your hands on these weird and strange things?"

Zhang Yang had no choice but to patiently explain.

"These are called triangular arrowheads; they're excellent for armor penetration. Regular arrowheads have limited armor-piercing power, but these can pierce through armor directly. Don't worry about anything else, just hurry up and make them for me. Ten bows, one hundred arrowheads—how long will it take?"

Sun the blacksmith pondered for a moment.

"It should take four or five hours, probably until dark, to get it to you."

"Thanks, Uncle Sun," Zhang Yang said, bowing with his hands clasped in a gesture of respect.

To speed things up, Zhang Yang helped by adding charcoal, while the blacksmith Sun heated a whole piece of pig iron to melt it and cast it according to the blueprints Zhang Yang had given him.

As for the materials for the bow and arrow, the blacksmith Sun found a pile of hard jujube wood.

Hard jujube wood is a superior material for making bows and arrows, so it seems that blacksmith Sun really did his job after taking the money!

There was no intention whatsoever to deceive oneself.

……

As soon as the sun set, the blacksmith Sun finished making the recurve bow, and all the arrowheads were also completed.

Zhang the blacksmith picked up a bow, pulled the bowstring, tested its weight, and then looked at Zhang Yang with a surprised expression.

"This bow is powerful, probably weighing thirty or forty dan (a unit of weight), which is much more powerful than the ordinary bows used by the Dragon Warrior Army."

Zhang Yang smiled faintly, took a bow and arrow from the blacksmith Sun, and nocked an arrow that had just been fitted with a quill.

Then, with a pull of the hand, it forms a full moon shape.

His eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a hint of murderous intent.

The bowstring twanged, and an arrow shot through the air.

"Whoosh!"

The arrow pierced the wind and struck an old jujube tree in the distance.

Sun the blacksmith quickly ran to the jujube tree and glanced back.

Goodness, that must be at least two hundred meters away.

Most importantly, the sharp arrowhead pierced directly into the hard jujube wood.

If this were ordinary armor, it could be shot right through.

Sun the blacksmith took a deep breath, gripped the arrow with both hands, and finally managed to pull out the arrowhead.

"Zhang Yang, that bow of yours is amazing. I don't think you're using it for hunting."

With such a powerful bow and arrow, hunting is simply unnecessary.

Moreover, Zhang Yang drew ten bows in total, which looked like he was going to take people with him...

Zhang Yang smiled as he took the recurve bow, and said with a chuckle, "Uncle Sun, there's no need to spell things out so clearly."

Sun the blacksmith nodded knowingly.

He had no objection whether Zhang Yang joined the army of the Tang Dynasty or the army of the Yan Dynasty.

He would be content as long as the bows and arrows he crafted could help Zhang Yang survive the war.

"Uncle Sun, I'll head back now."

"Be careful on the road."

Due to the war, there were practically no pedestrians on the streets at night.

Zhang Yang, carrying ten bows and dragging a bag of arrowheads, slowly returned to Guojia Village.

Guo Shitou and his brothers originally planned to go to Dujiabao with Zhang Yang in the morning, but Zhang Yang said that there were too many people and it would be too conspicuous, so he didn't take them with him.

As a result, these brothers didn't leave Zhang Yang's small courtyard all day.

Upon seeing Zhang Yang return, the brothers immediately stood up and went out to greet him.

He hurriedly helped Zhang Yang get the recurve bow and took the bag of triangular arrowheads.

"Done, Brother Zhang?"

Guo Shitou's eyes practically lit up when he looked at those recurve bows.

Zhang Yang nodded.

"Take one arrow each, and ten arrows each. Make your own shafts."

"Brother, don't worry. We've been hunting in the mountains quite a few times before. Even though we don't know how to make bows and arrows, we can still make the arrow shafts."

Brother Guo Huzi fiddled with his recurve bow and said with a chuckle.

At this moment, Guo Shitou stood up straight, holding the bow in one hand and pulling the string with the other.

It took a lot of effort to pull the bowstring back.

A layer of white sweat appeared on his head.

He said, panting, "That bow has too much force."

Zhang Yang chuckled softly.

"If you don't have any strength, how can you be lethal? You all need to practice a lot after you take them back until you are proficient."

Everyone nodded in agreement upon hearing Zhang Yang's instructions.

Just then, Guo Shitou put down his bow and arrow and said with some worry.

"Brother, are we really going to join the army?"

Zhang Yang was somewhat hesitant about this.

After all, the Tang Dynasty's army had a very clear hierarchy. The Divine Martial Army, the Dragon Martial Army, and the Left and Right Feathered Forest Guards were all selected from the sons of powerful and wealthy families. They were descendants of the Yuan soldiers who raised the Tang Dynasty in Taiyuan. Ordinary people like them had no right to join.

As for the regional military governors, they were still controlled by the military governors.

Although these people were recruited, most of them were sent to fight in battle, which is the ancient suicide squad.

Their main purpose was to resist the Great Yan army, and their mortality rate was extremely high.

Basically, after one wave of battles, none escaped unscathed.

"Let me think. If we can form our own army and win a few brilliant battles, perhaps we can attract the attention of the imperial court and avoid being drafted into the Vanguard. If there is really no other way and we are drafted into the Vanguard, we brothers must fight together against the common enemy and do our best to carve out a place for ourselves."

Zhang Yang knew very well that the An Lushan Rebellion was the turning point in the Tang Dynasty's decline from its peak.

In addition to being massacred by the rebel army of the Great Yan and looted by the soldiers of the Great Tang, Chang'an would also be looted by the allied forces of the Uyghurs, Parthia, and other countries.

Even ordinary people were abducted by those foreign armies, numbering in the tens of thousands.

From then on, there were foreign invasions and regional warlordism.

Even if Zhang Yang led his brothers to join the army and made great contributions, it would only be a matter of time before the collapse of the dynasty.

If I could raise a powerful army, quell the rebellion, kill the enemy, reclaim lost territory, and change the original situation of regional warlordism in the Tang Dynasty, perhaps...

However, this ideal is too distant and difficult to achieve in this chaotic world.

The biggest problem now is how to ensure the survival of these brothers.

The brothers exchanged glances, then all looked at Zhang Yang.

"Big brother, we'll do whatever you say! We'll do whatever you tell us to do!"

Guo Shitou said with a determined look.

After all, Zhang Yang dared to kill even the Dragon Martial Army, and he was able to get them such a powerful recurve bow.

It was as if they had found a glimmer of hope for survival in this seemingly hopeless situation.

"We'll share life and death!"

Zhang Yang stretched out one hand and said with a determined look.

Several brothers also put their hands on it.

They shouted in unison.

"We'll share life and death!"

Just as the brothers were united in their hatred of the enemy, Guo Huzi poured cold water on them.

"Brother, I wanted to go to Dujiabao to see you today, but on the way I saw a group of Great Yan rebels rushing by. I heard they are recruiting soldiers and conscripting men near Chang'an City, and they will be here in Guodu Town soon."

Upon hearing this news, everyone's faces darkened. Being captured by the Great Yan army was worse than being sent to the border army as a frontline soldier. They would be pushed directly to the front lines to wear down the enemy's rain of arrows and Tang swords.

To put it bluntly, getting caught means certain death.

Zhang Yang, however, showed no fear. Instead, a slight smile appeared on his lips, his face a mixture of delight and cunning.

"Fine, so they want to take ordinary people to their deaths? Let's make sure they never leave alive!"