"The sword is three feet long, and its body is as smooth as a mirror. The blade is as thin as a cicada's wing, and there is a cold light in the middle that seems to be constantly flowing. This sword can break the clouds and destroy the earth. What a good sword! It is truly a good sword! But the weight of this sword is actually... more than forty pounds! How... how is this possible? No... Marquis! This sword is definitely not made of ordinary metal. Could it be... could it be made of Xuan Metal? "
In Li Zexuan's office in the workshop of the Strange Interest Pavilion.
Zhang Hongsheng tightly gripped Li Zexuan's Wind Chasing Sword as if he was admiring a peerless beauty. He greedily poured his gaze onto the mirror-like smooth and cold blade. The more he looked, the more excited he became. In the end, he raised his head to look at Li Zexuan in disbelief and asked in a trembling voice.
The sharpness of this sword had already surpassed the Nine Crow Sword that his father had spent his entire life forging. How could he not be shocked?
But the moment he looked up, a strand of hair in front of him accidentally fell on the blade. Everyone saw that the strand of hair was easily cut off the moment it touched the blade. Then, the strand of hair gently fell to the ground!
Cutting off a strand of hair! How terrifying!
This was truly cutting off a strand of hair!
Faubert, Wang Ji, Zhang Hongsheng, Song Xiaosi, and the rest could not help but gasp. This kind of sharp divine weapon that only existed in ancient legends was actually seen by them today!
At this time, Li Zexuan smiled at Zhang Hongsheng and said, "Brother Zhang, you guessed right. This sword is indeed not made of ordinary metal. It is made of Xuan Metal!"
"Gulp!"
Zhang Hongsheng fiercely swallowed his saliva. At this time, he had completely let go of the arrogance of a swordsmithing clan's descendant because the sword in Li Zexuan's hand was more awesome than any sword he had ever seen. What right did he have to be arrogant? Therefore, he handed the Wind Chasing Sword to Li Zexuan with a face full of admiration and said,
"How can such a peerless sword not have a name? Marquis, please tell me which famous sword this is? Which famous swordsmith made it? "
Li Zexuan replied in a low voice, "This sword is called the Wind Chasing Sword. My master obtained it by chance from an otherworldly expert when he was traveling the world. As for who forged it, I don't know!"
"Wind Chasing Sword? What a good name! It's a pity that I don't know which famous artist it came from! "
Zhang Hongsheng murmured. After a moment of hesitation, he gritted his teeth and said, "Marquis, this Zhang has a presumptuous request. I hope that Marquis will grant it!"
Li Zexuan took a deep look at Zhang Hongsheng. His eyes seemed to be able to see through people's hearts. He smiled and said: "You want to borrow this sword to bring it back for your father to take a look?"
Zhang Hongsheng was taken aback and then said with some embarrassment, "Yes … yes, Marquis! My father spent his entire life pursuing the ultimate path of swordsmithing. This Wind Chasing Sword, whether it is the material or the craftsmanship, is a peerless sword that this Zhang has never seen before. My father will definitely be happy when he sees it. He is already very old, and as his son, the only thing I can do is to make him happy while he is still alive so that he won't have any regrets! "
"Senior Zhang's lifelong pursuit of the ultimate path of the sword is indeed admirable, but this Wind Chasing Sword was left behind by my master. How can this Marquis so easily lend it out?"
Li Zexuan softly sighed and then changed the topic. Zhang Hongsheng's expression immediately darkened. He thought to himself that he was overthinking things. Who would be willing to lend out such a peerless sword? Furthermore, this Wind Chasing Sword was left behind by Li Zexuan's master when he was alive. Its significance was extraordinary.
But at this moment, Li Zexuan said again, "However, on account of your filial piety, it's not that I can't lend you this sword, but you have to promise to help me forge a new set of armor. After you agree, I will immediately lend you the sword and allow you to lend it for three days!"
Zhang Hongsheng's eyes lit up as he hurriedly said, "Marquis! I agree! I agree! Not to mention a set of armor, even if you want me to forge a hundred or a thousand sets of armor, I'm willing! "
Li Zexuan found it somewhat funny and said, "Brother Zhang, this Marquis hasn't even said what kind of armor I want you to forge yet, and you're already agreeing so readily?"
Zhang Hongsheng said confidently, "Marquis, it's not that I want to boast, but I can forge all kinds of armor from the past dynasties, such as rattan armor, black armor, sleeve armor, double crotch armor, light armor, fine scale armor, Shanwen armor, Mingguang armor, and so on. Uh … Marquis, why don't you tell me what kind of new armor you want me to forge?"
Zhang Hongsheng was bragging happily when he suddenly remembered the embarrassing incident of almost falling down when he received the sword. He felt that he couldn't speak so confidently in front of Li Zexuan, otherwise, he would easily fall down. After all, he was someone who had suffered a loss once!
Everyone couldn't help but laugh when they heard Zhang Hongsheng's incoherent words and his obvious cowardice at the critical moment. The main reason was that this guy was too f * cking realistic, wasn't he?
Li Zexuan didn't laugh. He turned around and picked up a stack of drawings on the desk, then took out four of them. Then, he gestured for everyone to come to his side. He spread out the drawings and said, "Brother Zhang, the armor I want you to forge is called plate armor. The so-called plate armor is not just a piece of iron plate. It has to be light and portable, flexible at the joints, and cover the whole body! Here, this is the drawing! "
Among the many drawings he drew in the office this morning, one of them was drawing armor!
Everyone looked at the drawing and couldn't help but widen their eyes. Zhang Hongsheng couldn't help but exclaim,
"This … this plate armor is actually covering the whole body? Although this defense is indeed more comprehensive than the Mingguang Armor, if the whole body is used for defense, how heavy would this set of plate armor be? If soldiers wear it, how can they walk? Not to mention fighting! "
Li Zexuan explained at the side, "Hehe, as for how heavy this set of plate armor is, we will talk about it later. First, I will explain the structure of this plate armor to you. This set of plate armor is composed of a helmet, armor, breastplate, back armor, shoulder armor, wrist armor, elbow armor, leg armor, shin armor, and steel shoes. The joints are stacked with multiple layers of movable steel plates, which can ensure that the soldier's movements in battle won't be hindered.
The inside of the shoulder armor doesn't use steel plates and maintains a hollow structure, thus allowing the limbs to have more room to move. The joints connecting the body and other parts are lined with deerskin or linen, and interlocking chain mail is used to protect the inside. This way, the weight of the entire armor is borne by the whole body, and it is also comfortable to wear.
The breastplate of this plate armor is made up of three pieces. The middle piece is narrower and serves as a connection. This structure also allows the breastplate to have a certain degree of mobility, allowing the wearer to move more flexibly.
Of course, the biggest feature of this set of plate armor is the use of the neck armor. A simple helmet couldn't protect the parts below the mouth, but this set of plate armor used a large neck guard with a jaw guard to achieve the effect of complete protection of the face. For the purpose of insurance, this set of plate armor also used armpit guards to protect the armpits.
In addition, the surface of the plate armor is designed with ridges to strengthen the protective effect and reduce the weight. This way, all parts of the human body are within the steel armor. On the battlefield, it is completely impenetrable and unafraid of a rain of arrows! "
In fact, the plate armor that Li Zexuan wanted to make was called Gothic Plate Armor. In his previous life, he was not only an engineering student, but also a military enthusiast. He had seen many disassembled pictures of ancient countries' armor on the Internet.
Plate armor was known as the king of armor, and it was the symbol of medieval knights. It was the ultimate defense of the cold weapon era. In the hundred years of war between England and France, there was no record of an arrow being able to penetrate plate armor! Later on, when firearms were introduced, plate armor was so strong that it could even withstand the damage of ordinary matchlock guns!
From the fourteenth century to the fifteenth century, the progress in the structure and shape of armor was very obvious. The most famous plate armor in the history of the world, the Gothic and the Milanese plate armor, began to appear at this time. Because the former became popular in Milan, while the latter was greatly influenced by the Gothic art style, these two styles of armor were called the Milanese and the Gothic.
However, whether it was the Milanese style or the Gothic style, both originated from Italy. It was just that the Germans had developed the Gothic style to its peak, causing many people to mistakenly believe that the Gothic style originated from Germany.
Among all the plate armors, these two were the most popular. It wasn't that there were no other styles, but they were all imitations of these two styles. The Milanese style was characterized by its smooth lines, close-fitting, elegant, and beautiful design. The Gothic style was simple, full of functional beauty, with many edges and corners, and good movement.
"Wonderful work of art! It is indeed wonderful work of art! With these designs, it is indeed possible to protect the whole body without affecting the movement of the body's joints! But how heavy is this set of plate armor? Can the soldiers bear it? "
Zhang Hongsheng couldn't help but exclaim.
The Tang Dynasty's Mingguang Armor was considered the most advanced and defensive armor in the Tang Dynasty. However, compared to the full body plate armor designed by Li Zexuan, it paled in comparison. However, the only thing that Zhang Hongsheng was worried about was the weight of the full body plate armor!
The rest of the people also looked at Li Zexuan doubtfully. Obviously, everyone agreed that the defense of the plate armor was far superior to the Mingguang Armor. The only thing they were worried about was the weight!
Li Zexuan smiled slightly and said, "Haha! You don't have to worry about the weight. This kind of plate armor is at its peak. The weight of a full body plate armor will definitely not exceed forty pounds. As for the Mingguang Armor, it should be around fifty pounds, right? At the same level of defense, the plate armor is definitely lighter than the Mingguang Armor! "
Li Zexuan wasn't bragging. In the modern era, when plate armor was mentioned, people's first reaction was that it was heavy and inflexible. In fact, this was a misunderstanding of plate armor. In fact, plate armor was not only flexible, but also light. A full body of gothic plate armor would not exceed twenty-five pounds (one pound in the Tang Dynasty was about six hundred grams in the modern era, so twenty-five pounds would be about forty pounds in the Tang Dynasty). A full body of Mingguang Armor would weigh about thirty pounds!
A soldier wearing gothic plate armor could even perform all kinds of difficult movements. It was very flexible! Moreover, the plate armor made by a skilled armor master could not even fit a piece of paper in between the plates. Its defense was simply too good!
It was like a beggar's version of Iron Man!
And Li Zexuan wanted to make five thousand of such Iron Man!
"This … How is this possible? This set of armor is definitely more than forty pounds! "
Zhang Hongsheng shook his head fiercely, his face full of disbelief.
Li Zexuan smiled and said, "Brother Zhang, I'm afraid you've misunderstood. I don't intend to use the casting method for this plate armor. I want to use the forging method to polish the plate armor to about this thickness!"
As he spoke, Li Zexuan used his hand to indicate a thickness of about five millimeters.
Not only was the forged armor thin, but it was also stronger than cast armor. This was already an indisputable fact!
"Forging? Such a thin thickness? And you want to ensure that the thickness is uniform? "
Zhang Hongsheng was a little troubled, "Marquis, according to your request, it's not impossible, but it's extremely time-consuming and laborious. I can still make one or two pieces, but if there are too many of them, I really can't do anything!"
At this time, Zhang Hongsheng was very glad that he stopped in time when he was bragging. Otherwise, he would have embarrassed himself again! At the same time, he secretly vowed not to brag in front of Li Zexuan in the future, because Li Zexuan was poisonous. As long as he bragged in front of him, he would be instantly slapped in the face!
Li Zexuan smiled again and said, "Brother Zhang, you've misunderstood again. The forging method I'm talking about is not the manual forging method you think it is, but a stamping machine with constant power and constant speed. It can ensure that the surface of the forged item is smooth and uniform!"
"Stamping machine? There's such a magical weapon in the world? Why don't I know about it? "
Zhang Hongsheng said excitedly.
According to Li Zexuan's words, the stamping machine could be regarded as a magical weapon in the eyes of blacksmiths! After all, with this thing, there would be no need to hammer at a time to forge iron ~!
Li Zexuan said, "This stamping machine is driven by water, so it can also be called a hydraulic stamping machine. But it hasn't been made yet. When it's done, it will definitely have this effect! Xiaosi, go and invite Mr. Mo and Ink Girl over. Tell them that I have something to ask of them! "
"Yes! Young Master! "
Song Xiaosi took the order and left.
Faubert then asked, "Young Master, you want to invite Mr. Mo over to make the hydraulic stamping machine you just mentioned?"
Li Zexuan nodded and said, "Yes, and no. It can only be said that it's not all of it! The hydraulic stamping machine is only a small part of the work. We now have a waterwheel under the Ba River dam. This thing can directly provide power for our machine. We just need to connect some transmission mechanisms on it! However, in addition to the hydraulic stamping machine, I also plan to make some other things. We'll talk about it when they come! "
The reason why Europe could make full-body plate armor in the Middle Ages was because of the hydraulic stamping machine! Li Zexuan wanted to make this thing last year, but he didn't have a dam at that time, so he couldn't make the hydraulic stamping machine. Now that the dam and hydropower station were all built, he could finally show his skills!
.....
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