"Oh? Let me try! "
In the workshop's office building.
Li Zexuan received a sword made of vanadium steel. After examining it for a moment, he could not help but exclaim, "The blade is slender and the blade is like autumn frost. It has a cold light and it feels very good in my hand. Just based on its appearance, it is already better than 95% of the swords on the market! Not bad, not bad! The craftsman who forged this sword is very skilled. He should be rewarded! "
Li Zexuan nodded his head in satisfaction. At this moment, he took out a metal rod from the corner behind the door. This metal rod was purely made of iron. There was no charcoal in it and it could not even be considered steel. In fact, although there was already steelmaking technology in ancient times, it was only in some steelmaking workshops under the control of the imperial court. Most of the ironware used by the common people in their daily lives was still pure iron, and there was very little steel!
Li Zexuan picked up the vanadium steel sword and lightly waved it. Without using any internal force, he casually slashed at the metal rod. With a "keng" sound, a three millimeter deep sword mark was left on the metal rod!
This was already quite impressive. After all, he had just waved it casually. If he had used his full strength or even his internal force, he was confident that he could have used this vanadium steel sword to slash the metal rod in his hand!
Although this degree of sharpness was not as good as his Wind Chasing Sword, it had already far surpassed the weapons of this era!
Li Zexuan turned around and looked at the armor made of vanadium steel that Wang Ji was holding. This was a Radiant Armor. The origin of the name "Radiant Armor" was said to be related to the circular shield on the chest and back. This was because the circular shield was mostly made of copper and other metals. It was polished to the point that it looked like a mirror. When wearing the Radiant Armor on the battlefield, due to the sun's rays, it would emit a dazzling "Radiant Light", hence the name.
The Radiant Armor had an extremely long history. It was already in existence during the Three Kingdoms period. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the most commonly used armor was the Radiant Armor and the Dual Crotch Armor. The Dual Crotch Armor was usually made of small scales. The length of the Dual Crotch Armor extended to the abdomen, replacing the leather armor skirt of the Sui Dynasty. The lower part of the armor was shaped like a crescent moon or lotus leaf. It was used to protect the lower abdomen. These improvements greatly increased the defense below the waist.
Other than these two types of armor, the Tang Dynasty also developed many new types of armor. According to the Six Classics of the Tang Dynasty, there were twelve other types of armor, such as light, fine scale, mountain inscriptions, bird hammer, white cloth, soap, cloth back, infantry, leather, wooden, chain, and so on. Among them, Light Essences, Lock, Mountain Inscriptions, Bird Hammer, and Fine Scale Armor were iron armors. The latter three were named after the style of the armors. Leather Armor, Wood Armor, White Cloth, Soap Cloth, and Cloth Back were named after the materials used to make them.
"The design of this Mingguang Armor is very good. Could the craftsman who made it have worked in the Works Supervisor or the Ministry of Works before?"
Li Zexuan asked softly as he touched the smooth surface of the armor.
Wang Ji smiled and replied, "Yamachō has a good eye! The name of the blacksmith who made this armor is Zhang Hongsheng. His father is Zhang Cajiu, who used to be a famous blacksmith in the General Works Bureau. His qualifications and skills are not below Minister Yan's. However, he is old now, so he retired from the Bureau and took over his father's work. Zhang Hongsheng inherited Zhang Cajiu's skills in sword and armor forging. Although he only inherited fifty to sixty percent of it, he is the most skilled blacksmith in the workshop! "
"Zhang Cajiu?"
When Li Zexuan heard this name, he found it familiar. After muttering it twice, his face suddenly changed. He exclaimed, "Zhang Cajiu? Mr. Wang, are you saying that Zhang Hongsheng's father is Zhang Cajiu? Zhang Cajiu used to work in the Works Supervisor? He was also Minister Yan's colleague? "
Zhang Cajiu was the most famous craftsman in the Tang Dynasty. His Cajiu Sword was ranked 14th in China's Ancient Weapon Ranking. The famous poet of the Tang Dynasty, Bai Juyi, once wrote a poem about the Cajiu Sword. The poem said, "A thousand years after Ou Zhizi's death, the elves secretly taught Zhang Cajiu. Cajiu forged the sword in Wu Mountain.
In the poem, Bai Juyi believed that Zhang Cajiu's craftsmanship was taught to him by Ou Zhizi a thousand years ago.
As for who Ou Zhizi was, anyone with a little knowledge of history would know. Ou Zhizi was the founder of ancient craftsmanship in China and the creator of the Dragon Spring Sword. When Ou Zhizi was born, the Eastern Zhou Dynasty was in conflict. First, the Wu Kingdom conquered the Chu Kingdom. Later, the Wu Kingdom annexed 45 kingdoms to the south of the Yangtze River. When he was young, he learned metallurgy from his uncle and began to forge bronze swords, iron hoes, iron axes, and other tools. He discovered the difference between copper and iron and forged his first iron sword, the Qixing Longyuan Sword, or Longyuan Sword for short. In the Tang Dynasty, to avoid the taboo of Emperor Gaozu Li Yuan, he changed the word 'yuan' to 'quan' and called it the Qixing Longquan Sword. It was the first cold weapon in China.
Bai Juyi believed that Zhang Cajiu's craftsmanship was taught to him by Ou Zhizi. From this, it could be seen that Zhang Cajiu's craftsmanship was superb.
However, there were almost no records of Zhang Cajiu's life in the history books. They could only guess from some ancient poems. As for his birth date and history, there were no records. Li Zexuan didn't expect to hear about Zhang Cajiu in the early years of the Tang Dynasty. Moreover, this old man was once a Works Supervisor. How could he not be shocked?
"Yamachō also knows Zhang Cajiu? Haha! Zhang Cajiu is famous for his craftsmanship, so it's normal for Marquis to know him! This person did indeed serve as a Works Supervisor for a period of time. When the current Emperor was still the King of Qin, he loved swords. When he heard that Zhang Cajiu's craftsmanship was superb, he sent someone to invite Zhang Cajiu to make a sword. However, Zhang Cajiu was arrogant and refused the Emperor's request.
However, the Emperor was magnanimous and didn't get angry. Instead, he personally visited Zhang Cajiu. After three visits, Zhang Cajiu finally agreed to leave the mountain and become a Works Supervisor. The Emperor's current sword was made by Zhang Cajiu! "
Wang Ji explained with a smile.
Li Zexuan nodded in realization. He didn't expect there to be such a past. Suddenly, he felt that something was wrong. He asked, "Zhang Yajiu is a famous swordsmith and was once highly regarded by the current Emperor. Even if he is old now and has retired from his position as a supervisor, he should at least not have to worry about food and clothing, right? Why would he let his son work in our workshop? "
Wang Ji frowned and couldn't help but ask, "Yamachō, what do you mean by that? Don't tell me all the craftsmen come to our workshop for money? Don't you allow people to come here for their own interests and to realize their dreams? "
Old Wang was obviously hurt by Li Zexuan's words. As the leader of the Chemistry Department of Yanhuang College, his monthly salary wasn't small. He didn't lack money, but didn't he work in the workshop every day? He was doing it for his dreams!
Li Zexuan knew that he said the wrong thing and had an embarrassed look on his face. He hurriedly said, "Cough cough! Mr. Wang, that's not what I meant. I meant that since Zhang Hongsheng's father was a Works Supervisor, why didn't he recommend Zhang Hongsheng to be a Works Supervisor? Why did he allow his son to work in our workshop? "
Hearing this, Old Wang relaxed and said, "Yamachō, you'll have to ask Manager Fu. Zhang Hongsheng was recruited by Manager Fu. I don't know the details!"
"Haha! Zhang Hongsheng was personally invited by this old man. At that time, I told him that we have countless good materials for forging swords in our workshop. As long as he came, all the materials would be given to him. Zhang Hongsheng is like his father and loves forging swords. When he heard this old man's condition, he readily agreed! "
At this moment, Faubert came in from outside and said as he walked.
Obviously, he had been eavesdropping outside the room for a while!
Li Zexuan heard this and suddenly felt a little funny. He said, "Faubert only used some materials to recruit a master craftsman for the workshop! Amazing! Amazing! "
These words were sincere. Li Zexuan, who came from an engineering background, valued skills and talents the most. As long as you had skills, money wasn't a problem, and materials were even less of a problem!
If all the technical talents in this world could be recruited with some materials like Zhang Hongsheng, Li Zexuan didn't want to talk too much. He wanted to recruit three thousand people first!
Faubert laughed bitterly and said helplessly, "Young Master, you don't know how much materials Zhang Hongsheng used. Every time the workshop got good materials for forging swords, he would fight for them. If I didn't give them to him, I would break my promise. If I gave them to him, it would affect the task that you gave me. Just now, he ran over to me and asked if there was a new type of steel called vanadium steel in the workshop. He wanted me to give him two hundred catties first because he wanted to practice swords!
I know that the vanadium steel was refined using the vanadium ore that you obtained with great difficulty. How could I be willing to give it to him? So he started to make a fuss at my place, saying that I didn't keep my promise! This old man had no choice but to seek help from Young Master! "
Li Zexuan couldn't help but laugh and said, "Haha! Give it to him! Give him two hundred catties! Doesn't this Zhang Hongsheng like forging weapons? I happen to have a new set of armor here and I need his help to forge it! Song Xiaosi, go to Faubert's place and invite Zhang Hongsheng over! "
"Yes! Young Master! "
Song Xiaosi responded and quickly ran out.
After a while, under Song Xiaosi's lead, a man in his late twenties, shirtless, walked in from outside.
"Zhang Hongsheng pays his respects to Marquis!"
After entering the office, Song Xiaosi tugged at Zhang Hongsheng's sleeve and then secretly pointed at Li Zexuan. Zhang Hongsheng then saluted Li Zexuan.
"No need to be so polite!"
Li Zexuan smiled and went forward to help Zhang Hongsheng up. He then asked, "I heard that you wanted two hundred catties of vanadium steel from Faubert?"
Zhang Hongsheng's heart tightened. At this moment, he saw that Faubert was still standing in the room. In an instant, he figured out what was going on and thought that Faubert was complaining about him. Therefore, he said angrily, "Marquis, when I first entered this workshop, Manager Fu promised me that as long as I wanted rare materials for swords, he would try his best to satisfy me. I've only been in the workshop for three months. Does Marquis want Manager Fu to go back on his word?"
Looking at this guy's stiff neck and glaring eyes, looking as if he was looking for a fight, Faubert quickly frowned and reprimanded him. "Zhang Hongsheng, don't be rude in front of Marquis! Besides, no one wants to go back on their word! "
"Haha! Faubert, it's okay! It's okay! "
Li Zexuan waved his hand and wasn't angry at all. Since ancient times, people with great skills tended to have bad tempers. Li Zexuan was very patient with such people.
When Zhang Hongsheng heard the second half of Faubert's words, he was stunned. Not going back on his word? That was to say, Li Zexuan called him over to give him vanadium steel?
Thinking of this, Zhang Hongsheng immediately changed his expression and cupped his hands to Li Zexuan. "Marquis, please forgive me. I was anxious and offended Marquis. I hope that Marquis will forgive me!"
Li Zexuan smiled and said, "It's okay! The two hundred catties of vanadium steel you asked for from Manager Fu was approved by this Marquis. You can go to the steel mill to get it later! "
"Thank you, Marquis!"
Zhang Hongsheng was overjoyed and quickly cupped his hands.
At the same time, he thought that this young Marquis was quite easy to talk to!
Two months ago, after Zhang Hongsheng was "seduced" by Faubert to the workshop, he had been immersed in the blacksmith workshop studying the art of sword-forging. Usually, he didn't see Li Zexuan. Even if he did, no one introduced him to him and he didn't know him. Today was his first meeting with Li Zexuan.
In the morning, Wang Ji gave him a new batch of steel and asked him to forge three swords and three sets of armor. At that time, he didn't think much of it and thought that there was no need to use a sledgehammer to kill a chicken, so he planned to let his disciple forge it.
But inadvertently, he found that the quality of the steel was very hard. It was something he had never seen before in his life. Thus, out of curiosity, he personally forged the swords and armor in Li Zexuan's office.
Of course, he was quite satisfied with the sharpness of the swords that were finally forged. When Wang Ji went to his place in the afternoon to "pick up the goods," he couldn't help but ask Wang Ji what kind of steel it was. After knowing that it was vanadium steel, he eagerly ran to Faubert to ask for the materials!
That was why such a farce happened.
"This Marquis has long heard of your father's name. I heard that you, Hongsheng, have inherited your father's skills in sword-forging. This Marquis has a sword here. How about you help me take a look?"
When Li Zexuan saw Zhang Hongsheng's happy face, he thought that this technical talent wasn't that difficult to deal with. In order to pursue the victory, he took off the long sword at his waist and said to Zhang Hongsheng.
Zhang Hongsheng didn't think much of it. He thought to himself, What kind of good sword can a wealthy Marquis have?
But in order to obtain the vanadium steel as soon as possible, he still cooperated, "Understood! May Marquis lend me the sword to take a look! "
"Here! Here you go! "
Li Zexuan's lips curled into a mischievous smile. Together with the scabbard, he "lightly" tossed it to Zhang Hongsheng.
When Zhang Hongsheng saw how casually Li Zexuan tossed it, he guessed that the sword was very light. Thus, he also casually used one hand to catch the sword.
In the end, tragedy befell him in the blink of an eye!
"Aiyo ~!"
When the Wind Chasing Sword touched Zhang Hongsheng's hand, Zhang Hongsheng realized that something was wrong. But at this moment, even if he wanted to use both hands to catch the sword, it was too late. He could only watch as his body was "brought" down by the Wind Chasing Sword. Seeing that his entire body was about to hit the ground, he suddenly felt a gust of wind in front of him. Following that, a hand grabbed his shoulder, preventing him from falling any further!
In a flash, Li Zexuan appeared in front of him and supported him!
"Aiya! Brother Zhang, I'm sorry! This Marquis forgot to tell you that this sword is rather heavy. I'm sorry for startling you! "
Li Zexuan hurriedly apologised.
This apology immediately caused Zhang Hongsheng's face to turn red. He waved his hand in shame and said, "This Zhang's knowledge is shallow. I didn't know that there was such a small sword in this world, but it's extremely heavy! It's no wonder Marquis! This Zhang shall taste this sword for Marquis! "
Saying which, Zhang Hongsheng's heart was filled with amazement. He thought to himself, what kind of strange sword is this? Just based on its size and shape, it doesn't seem any different from an ordinary sword. But why is it so heavy? At the very least, this sword is three to four times heavier than an ordinary sword!
It was precisely because of this that he was caught off guard and almost fell to the ground because of this sword!
In the end, he couldn't suppress the curiosity in his heart. Zhang Hongsheng stood up straight and slowly pulled out the Wind Chasing Sword from the scabbard. Instantly, he was stunned!
.....
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