The common people of Beiliang only knew that there was a group of "people behind the mountain" living to the north of Mount Qing Liang, but they had no way of knowing what they did or what their identities were. The mountain behind Mount Qing Liang was also known as Back Yin Mountain, and it had always been a forbidden area. A wheelchair slowly descended the mountain. Xu Weixiong was wrapped in a thick black fur coat, her two fingers gently wrapped around her collar. At the foot of the mountain, there was a small navy blue building, unremarkable. She naturally knew that the real Beiliang Bureau of Machine Engineering was built underground, and it was brightly lit all year round. When Li Yang swallowed Spring and Autumn, the craftsmen of the Mohist Clan had given their all for the Zhao clan. After greatly benefiting the common people, they originally thought that they could retire and live alone in the mountains and forests to do some research. However, with the nature of the Zhao clan and the old Grand Secretary Li Yang always belittled the Mohist Clan as the "Tenth Nation of Spring and Autumn", the thousands of Mohist disciples scattered throughout the imperial court were all slaughtered. Especially Gu Jiantang and the other Mohist disciples of the Great Generals, almost all of them vanished from the face of the earth in a single night. Not even their corpses could be found. Only less than a hundred people were left, living an ignoble existence under the protection of the Xu clan. Among them, the two elders, Master Craftsmen Song Zhangsui and Yang Guangdou, were the two elders. Song Zhangsui was skilled in weapon forging, while Yang Guangdou was skilled in offense and defense. During the mourning period, Hsu Fengnian, who was pushing the cart behind him, went to the Machine Making Bureau. Other than "chasing souls and demanding lives", he shamelessly urged Song Zhangsui and his disciple to speed up the crafting of the talisman armor. He also asked Yang Guang for advice on the Western Front. Hsu Fengnian was no stranger to the Machine Making Bureau, so he didn't need to rush at the last minute. His Royal Highness, who was still a teenager, would often sneak into the Machine Making Bureau's underground lair to admire the unique scene there. The 'misleading' geographical map of Qing Liang Mountain that was purposely leaked out from the Prince's Mansion when he was playing fishing tricks with his enemies in Jianghu was created by Hsu Fengnian and Song Zhangsui's disciple, Cao Wei. Relying on this map, it wasn't difficult to enter Qing Liang Mountain and get close to Wutongin, but it was impossible to find the exact location. It could be said that His Royal Highness and Cao Wei were both scourges. When they were young, Hsu Fengnian was beaten black and blue by Cao Wei relying on his skills. If Xu Xiao wanted to go to the Machine Making Bureau to help his son get back, Song Zhangsui and Yang Guang would raise their heads and pick their noses and ears, pretending that they didn't know anything. In any case, if they wanted to find that child Cao Wei in that maze, unless Xu Xiao was determined to use two or three thousand soldiers to dig three feet into the ground, it would be impossible. But later on, Hsu Fengnian learned his lesson and bribed many of his peers in the Machine Making Bureau to suppress Cao Wei, blocking the way and trapping him. In short, Hsu Fengnian and Cao Wei, who was a few years older than him, didn't have a good relationship. In fact, they were born to be incompatible with each other. However, each of them had their own weaknesses. For example, when Hsu Fengnian said that he wanted to frame someone, or when he wanted to fiddle with some fantastical objects, no matter how unwilling Cao Wei's mouth was, he would do it more efficiently than anyone else. Xu Weixiong arrived at the entrance of the Bureau, but she didn't enter. She let Hsu Fengnian enter alone while she took a detour. The wheels followed the quiet limestone path back to the sunny side of Qing Liang Mountain.
Xu Fengnian walked into the Machine Forging Bureau without any obstructions. The tunnels with lights on the walls extended downwards as if there was no end to them. The Machine Forging Bureau was said to be large enough to fit an inverted Qingliang Mountain. Xu Fengnian walked for about an hour, passing through seven secret rooms and twelve secret tunnels before he finally reached a certain place at the bottom. He saw a two-story tall refining furnace with more than ten ladders around it. About a hundred feet away from the furnace, there was a desk filled with scribbled blueprints. There was a mess under the desk, and there were a few red-faced old men arguing endlessly, occasionally pointing at the furnace. Xu Fengnian didn't disturb these old men's argument. He walked in front of the furnace, his face red from the light of the flames. This furnace was called 'Cauldron Tool', and it had an extraordinary origin. The Tangxi Sword Furnace, which had already passed away, and the Dongyue Sword Lake Furnace, which was still being forged, paled in comparison to this furnace. It was said that when Great Qin had conquered the world, it had collected all of the ironware in the world to forge the Nine Cauldrons, which were used to suppress the two cities, three rivers, and four mountains. Xu Fengnian smiled, and just as he was daydreaming, someone jumped up and slapped him on the head. Xu Fengnian couldn't be bothered to turn around, so he sent that rude fellow flying with a single slap. Curses immediately sounded out from behind him. Ever since Xu Fengnian had started practicing the saber, the fellow behind him had become much more obedient. However, a leopard couldn't change its spots. That Cao fellow couldn't help but provoke Xu Fengnian a few times, and this was the result. Cao Wei rubbed his cheeks and stood side by side with Hsu Fengnian. This young man was short, but he didn't lose to others. When interacting with Hsu Fengnian, he liked to stand on his tiptoes. Even so, he was still half a head shorter than Hsu Fengnian. Hsu Fengnian smiled and said, "I heard that the 'great-grandson' was created by you?"
Cao Wei proudly said, "Compared to the sharpest 'ancestor', the sharpness is a bit worse. Compared to the sturdiest 'grandson', the firmness is a bit worse. Compared to the lightest 'father', it's only a bit heavier. Now you know how powerful it is, right? "
Hsu Fengnian poured cold water on Cao Wei's sarcastic face. "They're all just a little bit worse. Which one of them is the best among all the Beiliang sabers?"
Hsu Fengnian and Cao Wei gave the Beiliang saber nicknames. The Old Ancestor was the first real Xu family saber. In the early Spring and Autumn period, the Xu family's troops relied on this first generation cold saber to conquer the world. It could be said that they were invincible. In the middle and late Spring and Autumn period, such as the end of the war in Western Shu and Xiangfan, they switched to the second generation saber. It was not as sharp as the first generation 'Old Ancestor', but it was relatively lighter and sturdier. When they took over Beiliang, the third generation of the Beiliang saber, "Old Father", made a new choice. Nowadays, the Beiliang saber, "Old Father", had been hung by many rich young men in neighboring prefectures of Beiliang. Most of the Beiliang sabers with the most beautiful curves were the "Son". By the time the "Grandson" generation came, it was already five generations. Then, in the hands of Cao Wei, it was the youngest "Great Grandson". These six Zhong Liang sabers, unless one was a veteran soldier who was used to weapons, otherwise, it would be difficult to distinguish the differences between them. The fifth generation "Xu family saber", which was privately called "Grandson" by Xu and Cao Wei, was already recognized by the military masters of Liyang and Beimang as the best war saber in both offense and defense. Whether it was on foot, war, or horse, it was the best in the world. It was not that the generals of the Southern Dynasty of Beimang, Prince of Yan Chi, Prince of Liyang and Prince of Guangling, Zhao Yi, these famous warriors, did not think of mass copying. It was just that the production of a seemingly simple saber involved the quality of the iron ore, the efficiency of the iron mining, the temperature of the furnace, the forging process, the design of the mold, and so on. It even had to take into account the size of the soldier using the saber. The knowledge required was complicated and difficult. In addition to the many advantages of the Beiliang's iron ore quality and superb craftsmanship, the most important thing was that the Beiliang cavalry had been guarding the frontier for twenty years.
Although Hsu Fengnian's sarcastic remarks about Cao Wei's "great-grandson" did not sound like much, in fact, he did not need to see the knife with his own eyes and touch it to know that this generation's "Xu Dao" was domineering. It was not the sharpest or the sturdiest, but it was definitely the killing weapon that could exert the most lasting lethality!
As expected, Cao Wei, who felt insulted, jumped up and scolded, "You layman, if you have the ability, don't touch a" great-grandson "in your life!"
Hsu Fengnian was too lazy to bicker with him. He reached out his hand and very quickly, Cao Wei's apprentice brothers ran over and presented three new knives with both hands. This generation's "Xu Dao" was also a "great-grandson", but according to common practice, the cavalry, infantry, and Lingzhou soldiers guarding the rear all had their own subtle preferences. Generally speaking, the Beiliang cavalry, especially the elite heavy cavalry, would be equipped with the most new and outstanding cold knives. As long as a new knife appeared, they would be able to change it almost immediately. On the other hand, the normal guards in Lingzhou, such as those who were not guarding the dangerous Tong Pass, were much slower. Hsu Fengnian took one of the war cavalry knives. His left hand held the handle of the knife and held it horizontally across his chest. The finger of his right hand brushed across the blade, ignoring the blood that seeped out of his index finger. He narrowed his eyes and knocked on the body of the knife a dozen times. He pricked up his ears to listen to the slight echoes that ordinary people could not recognize. He nodded in satisfaction and a warm smile slowly spread across his elegant face. The young Mohist disciples who were regarded as traitors by Cao Wei were relieved of a heavy burden. They looked at each other and smiled.
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