In Jingdou, when the imperial guards of the Palace pasted the imperial notices on the city gates and various streets and alleys in conspicuous places, commoners quickly surrounded them.
In the early years, it was rare to see imperial notices posted.
When the former Emperor was on the throne, he only pasted one when he searched for famous doctors to treat a certain princess in the palace.
Later, when the current Emperor opened a mathematics school, he often posted notices like this to search for craftsmen among the commoners. By now, the commoners were no longer surprised by this.
A scholar who passed by had already deciphered the contents of the imperial notice, causing a lot of discussion among the people.
This time, the Emperor wanted to recruit skilled blacksmiths from all over the Jing Kingdom. It was said that food, accommodation, and women would be provided. Those with families would also be given a courtyard in the capital. Apart from that, they would also receive a monthly subsidy from the country.
If they were a famous master blacksmith, they might even be able to get a position in the Academy of Sciences. From then on, they would be able to bring glory to their family, reach the sky in a single step, and make their ancestors proud …
In short, as long as one had a skill, one would be able to live a good life in the capital city, in the Jing Kingdom. Even if one was an old farmer, as long as his land was better than others and his harvest was greater than others, there would still be some officials from the Academy of Sciences who would be willing to call him 'teacher' and humbly ask him questions …
A scholar in a green robe looked at the imperial notice posted on the city wall, then looked at the book he had just bought and sighed.
The book in his hand was this year's imperial examination secret scroll, which he had spent a lot of money and pulled a lot of strings to buy.
A blacksmith could get food, accommodation, and marriage services. It was a pity that he had not passed the imperial examination. At the age of coronation, he had not married and had not even touched a woman's hand …
It was not that he had not touched a woman's hand. Yesterday, when he was buying vegetables, the auntie who sold vegetables had touched him …
Thinking of this, he could not help but feel sad. He threw the book in his hand to the ground and strode away.
Ten years of studying hard could not compare to ten years of forging iron. What was the use of reading such a useless book?
After a few steps, he turned around and walked back. He picked up the book on the ground, patted the dust off it, and carefully put it in his pocket.
He still had to study. Even if he didn't pass the exam, he would become a blacksmith in the future. Between a blacksmith who had studied and a blacksmith who only knew how to forge iron, there was no need to even think about whose future was brighter …
What's more, this thing cost a lot of money …
…
Blacksmith Xu was an ordinary blacksmith in the capital. He originally had a name, but his neighbors had been calling him "Blacksmith Xu" or "Blacksmith Xu" for decades. He couldn't remember how long it had been since someone last mentioned his real name.
He had just come back from the city wall, so naturally, he had heard the latest news. The spring of blacksmiths that he had been looking forward to was finally here …
Carpenter Wang, who lived next door, had entered the Academy of Sciences two years ago. Although he was only doing odd jobs for the great craftsmen of the Ministry of Works, he had built a two-storey courtyard this year and arranged a marriage for his silly son. The bride was going to be married this year, and his life was enviable.
The old gangster who sold pornography diagonally across the street was also living a comfortable life because he could tell what people were saying just by looking at their lips. It was said that he was a teacher at the Academy of Sciences and had a group of disciples. He even boasted that he had taught the current emperor …
Blacksmith Xu's son was still young, so he wasn't in a hurry to arrange a marriage for him. As a blacksmith, he didn't have the extravagant hope of becoming a teacher for the emperor. All he wanted was to earn more money and let his family of three live a more comfortable life.
He glanced at his son, who was playing outside the door. He didn't forge iron, but leaned comfortably on the chair and took a sip of the good wine that he had just bought from the tavern. He had already signed up for the recruitment on the imperial notice board, and now he just had to wait for the notification …
Outside the door, a few young children were running happily in the streets.
"Eat my Wind-god's Kick!"
"I know the Cloud-Splitting Palm!"
"I have the Snow-Guzzling Saber!"
"I have the Peerless Sword!"
…
The world of children was always carefree. They weren't old enough to study, so they only thought about eating and playing every day. Sometimes, they would sneak into the brothel to listen to stories …
The brothel was the most magical place in their hearts. There were monkeys waving sticks and fighting their way up to the 33 Levels of Heaven. There were various immortals and gods that they had never heard of. There were also many martial arts masters and heroic deeds of chivalrous heroes …
After listening to stories in the brothel, they would play the roles they liked and reenact the stories they had heard. It was a game that they never got tired of.
They were acting out a new story in the brothel, which was the plot of Wind and Cloud.
Wind-god's Kick, Cloud-Splitting Palm, Snow-Guzzling Saber, and the Peerless Sword …
Each of them had a dream of being a hero. They wanted to learn the peerless martial arts and help the weak, punish the weak, and fight the evil in the martial world …
That was what the stories said.
Of course, since he was a chivalrous hero, he needed a suitable weapon, a martial art move that sounded powerful, and a fine horse. The horse had to be beautiful, and it would be best if it was tall and big. Only then would Squire Zhang's son, Zhang Xiao Hua, ride the same horse as him …
Zhang Xiaohua lived in Zhang Yuanwai's house. He didn't have a horse or a weapon. He didn't know where the Sword-worshipping Villa that the old grandpa mentioned was. It was said that there were many peerless godly weapons there. If he could get one …
…
"Brother, don't be angry …" Playing with the dagger in her hand, Shouning looked at Li Xuan and said, "Master once said that simplicity is beauty. Look at this dagger. It's simple and clean. The scabbard is simple, and the curve of the blade is smooth …"
Simplicity was beauty. Li Xuan naturally understood this principle.
However, when Shouning comforted him, she couldn't walk back and forth. She was holding the long sword in her other hand, and the gem on the scabbard was shining so brightly that he couldn't open his eyes.
Looking at her serious expression, Li Xuan asked, "How about we exchange?"
Shouning was dazed and said in surprise, "But Brother, this sword is for women …"
"I don't mind," Li Xuan looked at her and said, "You can have the simple and beautiful dagger."
"Brother, are you serious?"
"Yes."
"I won't exchange."
After saying that, the pretty woman turned around and left. She walked out of the hall and did not look back even once.
Li Xuan sat back down and looked at the dagger on the table angrily.
He had thought that it was a unique godly weapon. It was indeed unique. Among the three gifts he gave, this was the most special, simple, and shabby one …
The shortest.
He knew that he wouldn't compete with MIngzhu to avoid humiliating himself. But Shouning …
Thinking of the girl just now …
Forget it, Shouning wouldn't compete with him. He would still be humiliating himself.
Thinking of this, he actually felt a little better.
Then he opened another letter.
"Sword Greeting Villa, a batch of peerless godly weapons …"
After reading the letter, he had a rough idea of what Li Yi wanted to do.
If he was a shepherd, then the officials and nobles in the capital were the fat sheep raised by his family.
A few years ago, he used the colored glass to make these fat sheep shed a layer of wool. Now that new wool had grown, he was here again.
He was the Emperor, and those people were his subjects. Although it was easy for them to make money, he couldn't let him fool them again and again.
If it weren't for the fact that the Academy of Sciences had several big projects that needed funding, if it weren't for the fact that his second child was about to be born, if it weren't for the fact that MIngzhu didn't allow him to squander the money in the national treasury, he would never agree to Li Yi doing this.
He walked out of the door and said to a guard, "Tell them that two-eighty is not enough, at least three-seventy!"
…
At the gate of the capital.
Several carriages came from afar. Before they entered the city, they were stopped by the guards at the gate.
One of the generals came forward and asked, "What's in the carriages?"
A man smiled and said, "Some goods."
"What goods?" The general lifted the black cloth covering the carriages and opened a box. After taking a look, his expression changed.
He opened a few more boxes and his expression darkened. He took a few steps back and waved his hand. Seeing this, the guards behind him immediately surrounded the carriages.
Only then did the general come forward and ask, "Do you have the seal of the imperial court?"
Smuggling weapons was a serious crime, not to mention that there were so many of them. If they didn't have the seal of the imperial court, these people had to be arrested and interrogated immediately.
"Of course we do." The leader nodded and took out something that looked like a piece of silk from his sleeve and handed it over.
After carefully examining it, the general waved his hand and the guards behind him left.
The carriages drove through the gate. The general was still a little worried and went forward to ask, "Where did these things come from?"
In front of the carriages, the man turned around and said with a smile, "Sword Greeting Villa!"
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
