Chapter 542 Living Sacrifice of Weapons, Daxia Dragon Bird
“A pair of white camels from the Western Regions, a jade Buddha, seven hundred large argali sheep from the Western Regions, four pairs of luminous cups and luminous bowls, and twenty fine grape wines from the Yelan Kingdom Six bottles, a pair of male and female long-haired four-horned deer, the strange beast of the Snowy Mountains, a pair of scorching fire armor of the Western Habus, a Duke Millian sword..."
Cicadas chirped one after another in the courtyard. , as Zheng He spoke slowly, Su Chen, who was listening with his hands clasped in front of him and his eyes closed, suddenly stopped, turned his head slightly and spoke, interrupting Zheng He's voice reading the list behind him.
"Duke Zheng, did you just read about the West?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, it says about the West: a pair of Habus's scorching fire armor, and what else is there, such as the Duke Milia sword? .”
"Show me."
Su Chen took the tribute list presented by the envoy from the Western Regions and found the Western armor and weapons that Zheng He just talked about on it.
"Send someone to fetch the armor and weapons and send them to my study."
After saying that, Su Chen returned to the imperial study with the list, and Dian Wei and Xu Chu stood at the door. On both sides, Zheng He followed the emperor straight inside and poured tea for Su Chen thoughtfully.
“Your Majesty, do you want to see Western weapon craftsmanship?”
"Well, there has to be a comparison."
He narrowed his eyes, and his heroic voice fell in the wind.
At this time, the focused craftsmen did not notice that outside the workshop, the emperor led several generals as they walked along the road outside, glancing at the large and small workshops on both sides from time to time.
"Uh... we'll talk about it later." Ma Chao waved his hand nonchalantly, "Generals Guan and Zhang haven't thought about it yet."
The sound of tinkling iron There was an endless stream of blacksmiths and apprentices, with their upper bodies bare, busy fanning fire and forging, with sweat splashing down on their trembling muscles.
Xiang Yu has been guarding the meteorite since it was transported back to Yanjing. After coming here several times, he knows every plant and tree in the craftsman's workshop very well.
After leaving the study, Zheng He happily went to prepare the carriage. Soon, a group of people quietly left the imperial city and went straight to the craftsman's workshop in the northern suburbs through the less crowded streets.
"Your Majesty is coming to the craftsman's workshop. Why don't you send someone here first so that I can greet you earlier?"
While Zhao Yun was snickering on the side, everyone had arrived at the end of the craftsman's workshop. On the other hand, General Jiangzuo also received a notification from his subordinates at this time, and rushed to meet him in a hurry.
Xiang Yu and others also laughed when they saw Su Chen: "I am thinking of the same thing as Your Majesty."
"This kind of armor seems to have extremely high defense, but in a straight line, there is no buffering chain armor and overlapping fish scales, and it cannot relieve the force."
From the perspective of future generations, it can be regarded as a handicraft. .
The Western long sword I took from the weapon rack is the same as Su Chen's Xia Wang Sword. It is a two-handed sword. It is quite heavy in the hand. The sword surface is wide and flat, with a blood groove in the middle. , the left and right sides of the swallowing mouth are sharp and slender, and a ruby like an eye is carved in the middle.
"If that's the case, I won't be able to see what I want to see."
Su Chen walked to the front and stopped in front of an imposing mansion, looking at the towering flagpole inside. The white dragon flag above flutters in the wind.
"Speaking of forging, I don't know how the meteorites are doing. How about going and taking a look?"
"What are you..."
"Speaking of loving beauties, when did Meng Qi Marry another wife?" Lu Bu looked sideways from the front and asked casually.
"Your Majesty, if all the Western countries have such armor and weapons, there is nothing to worry about."
"There is still some worry. These things cannot be said to be only used by the royal family." Su Chen looked at it for a while and then lost interest. Flashy things had no value at all in his eyes.
"It's rare to see the famous Overlord of Western Chu... being so eager to do one thing." Ma Chao walked behind and said in a joking tone, "... As expected, we warriors are all the same. We love weapons as much as we love beauties."
Su Chen took a sip of tea, looked at the list of tributes in his hand, and considered his words for a moment: "It should be something extraordinary that can be sent as a tribute by people from the Western Regions. Judging from the craftsmanship on the opponent's weapons and armor, It can tell the level of forging in the west, and thus the strength of the army."
Guan Yu and Zhang Fei looked back at him: "What are you doing to my brother?"
Since the meteorite was brought back to the north and handed over to the craftsman for supervision, it has not been concerned about it. Now some time has passed, and it is not known whether the meteorite has been mined and usable metal has been refined.
"...How is the meteorite?" With that said, Su Chen walked up the stone steps and crossed the threshold.
The hot summer wind whistled through the smoke-filled craftsmanship houses.
"People from the West...should be very good at fighting." Zheng He nodded slightly, his tone a little excited.
Both sides suddenly laughed.
Zheng He only took one look and then made a final decision: "If you hit it with a hammer, you will not die but will suffer internal injuries. However, Westerners in this world are quite tall."
"... I have made a little gain and only made a little meteorite. This is because I have used many forging methods to achieve this.
Unexpectedly, when I got here and got off the carriage, I saw Lu Bu, Xiang Yu, Guan Yu, Ma Chao, and Zhao Yun here.
Soon, Su Chen led Xiang Yu, Lu Bu, Guan Yu and other military generals into the workshop area where craftsmen gathered.
While walking inside, he was talking to Su Chen in front of him, and at the same time explaining to Lu Bu and others, as if he was a master craftsman.
But in the current world, such a sword can only be said to be an embroidered pillow, which is of no use.
Not long after, several guards came in from the outside. The eunuch at the door opened the double door of the study room completely, and then several guards moved in a set of heavy armor. Also brought in was a sword hanging horizontally. The great sword on the stand.
This is basically where military artifacts are forged, and Su Chen wanted to know where the meteorites were made, which was at the very back of the craftsman's workshop, close to the place where firearms were forged.
"Yes."
"...There are many people here, and meteorites are rare things. Not only is it not safe to put them here, but it will also affect many craftsmen here. If there is something wrong with the body, the army's progress in making weapons will be slowed down."
This armor is completely different from Daxia's style. The whole is made of pieces of iron and is polished to a shiny finish. , with golden patterns branded on it, and the armor coverage rate is extremely high, even the fingers are wrapped in it.
Su Chen nodded in agreement and looked at the armor carefully. He was considered an emperor on horseback, and he still had the ability to distinguish armor.
"The craftsmanship of armor making is very good. It shows that their craftsmanship is not weak, and the army is not far behind. And this sword..."
Su Chen waved his hand and asked the guards to use these two items. After taking the things out, he invited Zheng He to go to the craftsman's workshop in the northern suburbs of Yanjing.
Your Majesty also knows that we have never forged meteorite iron, and there are too many useless rocks in meteorites. These rocks are extremely hard and have no other uses. ”
The general craftsman walked up the stone steps with his feet buried, followed by Su Chen. After entering this large house, the sound of forging iron and cutting stone faintly penetrated.
This place is different from the forging workshops Su Chen has seen before. The front yard looks like the residence of an ordinary person, clean and quiet, but there is a lot more smell of fireworks in the air
Walking further inside, the wall becomes thicker and taller, and you can see many clerks and government officials coming in and out of craftsmen's workshops.
After passing here, I saw several stoves that were still burning, and there were patrolling soldiers around, wearing leather armor and holding spears.
When the two teams of soldiers guarding the gate saw Su Chen and several generals in the army striding forward, they tightened their grip on their long soldiers, straightened their chests and waists, and their eyes suddenly looked straight ahead like a knife.
“Meet Your Majesty!”
“No courtesy.”
Su Chen passed them and entered a stove near the atrium, where he saw a pile of dark iron on a tray.
The craftsman general stepped forward and introduced to Su Chen: "Your Majesty, this is the meteorite that was stripped out. It is only enough to forge a few knives."
"How many meteorites were used?"
The craftsman general stretched out his hand and pointed out five fingers: "Five thousand kilograms of meteorite blocks." "How much meteorite iron is here?"
"Sixty-five pounds."
Hearing the answer, Su Chen frowned, not counting the cost of other things.
But it’s not bad to think of being able to forge meteorite.
Immediately, Su Chen nodded: "These sixty-five pounds are really valuable."
As he said that, he pointed to the stove not far in front of him, "I want to see what you are forging now. Use this sixty-five kilograms of meteorite iron to make a new sword for me.”
"Now?" After hearing the emperor's words, the craftsman general showed a trace of hesitation on his face. It was obvious that it was not easy to get this bit of meteorite.
"What, are you having trouble?"
"Your Majesty..."
Seeing that he could no longer hide it, General Craftsman suddenly knelt on the ground, "...I don't have any intention. To deceive your majesty, I will tell you the truth. It is a bit difficult to make weapons from this meteorite."
"What's the difficulty?" Guan Yu couldn't help but ask. To be honest, who doesn't want to get one in the sky. Weapons made of stars?
"I know your difficulties. After all, meteorite is definitely different from ordinary iron. Come on, I don't blame you, but if you have difficulties, you should talk to me now."
Su Chen is not that kind The emperor, who always blamed others when he disagreed, openly asked the craftsman general who was kneeling on the ground to stand up and speak. The latter hurriedly walked to the stove.
Took one and held the newly struck knife embryo in the palm of his hand like a treasure. Under Dian Wei's gaze, he carefully raised it.
"...Your Majesty, the general knife is continuously heated, broken and forged to remove impurities and charcoal, and finally forms a knife embryo, and then uses the earth-covering and burning edge technology to basically take shape." As he said, he suddenly He slashed out with a knife and struck the meteorite with a bang. The moment sparks flew everywhere, the knife blade broke into two halves.
“Meteorite iron is extremely hard, much harder than ordinary swords. Before Your Majesty came here, I and several of the best blacksmiths have tried several times, but they couldn’t make it red.”
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Failure to burn it until it becomes soft means that it cannot be forged into shape.
"Is there no other way?" Su Chen put his hand on the meteorite iron, and when his fingertips touched it, he felt a cold feeling. Such a good thing could not be forged, which made him a little unwilling: "Really Is there no other way?”
The craftsman general shook his head.
At this time, a blacksmith next to him suddenly spoke in a low voice: "Your Majesty... I have a home-made method here, I don't know if it can be used."
Withdrew his fingers from the meteorite iron, Su Chen looked at the blacksmith who was speaking with some surprise. He had dark skin and a thick build, especially his arms, which were muscled and full of explosive strength.
Su Chen looked at him and motioned for the other person to continue talking.
The blacksmith looked at the general craftsman over there, and when he saw that the latter had no objection, he took a deep breath.
"This little native method is a bit cruel...it just requires...blood sacrifice."
Blood sacrifice?
Su Chen was stunned for a moment, as were Lu Bu, Xiang Yu, Zhang Fei, Guan Yu and others. The blacksmith quickly said: "There is no other way to do ordinary forging, maybe you can give it a try."
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"Then let's give it a try." Su Chen didn't waste much time, "What I need most here are death row prisoners. Governor Zheng, could you please make a trip."
When it came to blood sacrifice, Su Chen immediately thought of it. Since he wanted to do this, he thought of something that could be reused.
"...bring the Japanese pirate Toyotomi Hideyoshi here, he will be needed here."
Su Chen's voice was loud and powerful, and he raised his hand casually. Zheng He left immediately and came out. I arrived here, and when I came back not long after, I was accompanied by two policemen from the police station. They were carrying a short figure that was neither human nor ghost.
It was Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of the famous Japanese pirates who came to Yanjing, who came here to parade in the streets and was thrown into the sky prison. He was tortured by the prison boss every day. If it hadn't been for Zheng He warned me not to kill him, I'm afraid he would be killed on the first day in the prison.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi's eyes were red and swollen, his face was pale, his lips were trembling as he looked at the people around him, and his prison uniform was in tatters.
"What are you bringing me here for..."
"...You will soon know that you should make the best use of everything. You have eaten a lot in prison. It's time to pay something for food." Su Chen glanced at Toyotomi Hideyoshi and didn't have much desire to talk to him. He looked at the blacksmith opposite. The latter nodded in understanding and quickly recruited two apprentices. While the iron was being moved away, a government official came forward and dragged Toyotomi Hideyoshi up from the ground.
"Your Majesty, why don't you come with me!"
"Let's go over together and see how people make iron!" This was the first time Lu Bu and others had seen this method of forging iron. When he arrived, he followed Su Chen to the backyard.
There is a larger forging furnace here, which looks like it was used to peel off meteoric iron.
At this time, the fire in the furnace was burning vigorously. The apprentice who came first had already put the meteorite into the furnace, and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who was being escorted by the Yamen, seemed to have a premonition of something and kept struggling. roar.
"Let me go...I am a daimyo...a person with status...Emperor Xia Guo, you can't kill me like this!"
Toyotomi Hideyoshi shouted with all his strength. After all, he was much bigger than ordinary people in this world. After squeezing the two government officials away, he rushed towards Su Chen who was striding towards him, staring straight at him, and then...with a bang, he knelt on his knees. down.
"The Emperor of Xia, Toyotomi Hideyoshi is willing to surrender and work hard for you!"
"There's no need to be a cow or a horse, just make a weapon for me!" Su Chen couldn't wait to see the blood sacrifice method of forging a knife, but didn't even bother to take a look at the Japanese pirate kneeling in front of him.
He beckoned the craftsman to drag the man to the stove. After a while, the flames of this huge stove danced wildly, and waves of heat made everyone seven or eight steps away feel their flesh. They were all burned by the waves of fire.
Over there, the meteorite was placed on the stone slab and pushed in. The two apprentices kept pushing the bellows, and various combustion-supporting things were also added in.
The next second, in the voice of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's pleading, he was picked up by the officials. When Su Chen nodded in agreement, the two officials were cruel and directed the Japanese pirates they had set up. Throw it in through the open opening of the stove.
“Ahhh!”
Heartbreaking screams instantly came from the furnace. Toyotomi Hideyoshi was thrown into the furnace. As soon as the prison uniform came into contact with the red coals, a fire instantly ignited. He rolled crazily inside, and the hair, hair, skin and flesh on his face were all burned. It was visibly burning.
The oozing grease made a sizzling sound.
A stream of blood also sputtered out from the exploded belly and sprinkled on the meteorite. The iron block, which was still dark, gradually turned fiery red at this moment.
"Faster the bellows!" The blacksmith's face flushed, and he turned a deaf ear to the screams coming from the furnace. He just excitedly urged the two apprentices to speed up their actions.
“It’s just a little bit close…just a little bit close…we must succeed!”
His lips were trembling with excitement, and his words became a little incoherent. Finally, after seeing that the meteorite was completely red, regardless of the fire wave, the blacksmith used pliers to pull out the stone slab, clamped the meteorite on the anvil, and fixed it on the anvil. While meteorite picked up the hammer and beat it wildly, the two apprentices also seized the time and rushed to help.
Bang bang bang——
The three of them went back and forth hundreds of times, hammering the original lump of meteorite into long strips, and then put it into the furnace again for burning , after going back and forth several times, the sword finally took the form of a blank.
And Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the furnace curled up and became a corpse burned to coke.
"Your Majesty...do you want to engrave words?" After the two methods of carburizing and covering with soil, it still needs to be forged, but now the sword has begun to take shape, and with the extremely hard characteristics of meteorite iron, it is now possible to engrave words on it. is the best time.
……
The sky is setting in the west.
Su Chen looked at the sword blank surrounded by fireworks. He slowly stretched out his hand and took the carving knife handed over by the blacksmith. A cool breeze blew over. He looked at the sword body in silence for a while, and then pressed the carving knife against it. The sword's blade made harsh metal friction sounds one after another.
"The Great Xia Dragon Bird, the weapon of the emperor, is like a wind-swept grass, commanding the nine states."
The sixteen seal characters are vigorous and powerful, and every stroke is as sharp as a sword.
(End of this chapter)