There was a stone mountain in front of her. It was completely bare with rock walls and not a single strand of grass grew on it. Not only was this mountain tall, but it was also very large. What was even more frightening was that it had almost no slope and was completely straight up and down.
Feng Yu Heng raised her head to look. She stretched her chin so hard that it hurt, but she could only see a little bit of the peak of the mountain at the end of the clouds. She couldn't help but sigh: "Towering into the sky, this kind of mountain is right?"
Xuan Tianming explained to her: "This mountain is called Xu Tian. It's the highest mountain in the Ping Xu Mountain Range and is also the most dangerous one. This mountain is vertical and its peak reaches into the clouds. It's surrounded by rocks and there's no possibility of climbing. "
She curiously asked: "Then what about you guys? Can you rely on qinggong to climb over it? "
Xuan Tianming shook his head: "We aren't immortals. Even if we use qinggong to climb over the mountain, we still need to step many times on the way. Moreover, although the barrier mountain we climbed over is high, it's still not even 30% of this Xu Tian Mountain. Even the most powerful qinggong expert wouldn't be able to climb over a mountain that reaches into the clouds. "
"So it's like that." Feng Yu Heng still raised her head to look up and pondered in her heart: "Say, this camp isn't far from the capital. Such a tall mountain should be visible from the capital, so why have I never paid attention to it?"
Xuan Tianming pointed ahead and told her: "The capital is behind the mountain. There's a large river over there and the air is humid all year round. When the mist rises, it directly connects to the clouds and covers this mountain."
Feng Yu Heng only felt that this was magical. Now that she was at the foot of the mountain, she was also extremely shocked. However, something even more shocking happened afterwards. She saw Qian Li point at the large stone mountain in front of her and tell her: "County princess, Xu Tian Cave is inside this mountain."
"Hm?" Feng Yu Heng was stunned. Inside the mountain? Could it be … "This mountain is actually empty?"
Xuan Tianming couldn't help but laugh when he saw her silly appearance. He softly said: "If you're really curious, you can uproot this mountain and stuff it into your sleeve. You can take it back and slowly study it."
She shook her head repeatedly. "No, no, my sleeve doesn't have that much space. This is a mountain!"
As he spoke, Qian Li had already taken a few steps forward. There was a large number of soldiers in front of them. She took a closer look and discovered that there was something different about the mountain in front of them. However, she couldn't tell exactly what was different. She could only push Xuan Tianming and follow Qian Li forward.
Finally, the mountain was within reach. When the soldiers guarding the mountain saw that it was them, they hurriedly knelt down and saluted. Xuan Tianming told them to get up and calmly ordered, "Open the mountain." Dozens of officers and soldiers rushed forward and pushed the mountain together.
Feng Yu Heng rubbed her forehead. In fables, she had heard of a foolish old man moving a mountain. Now that she saw a real-life soldier pushing a mountain, she felt a little excited just thinking about it!
At this moment, there was a rumbling sound as the soldiers pushed open a crack in the mountain. Then, as the soldiers continued to move, the crack grew bigger and bigger until it finally formed a huge stone door.
The door that was opened against the mountain was so huge that it was quite intimidating to see it with one's own eyes. In this era where there weren't any mechanical production tools, it wasn't easy to open a mountain gate like this.
However, the hard part was still to come. As soon as the mountain gate opened, the soldiers immediately returned to their positions. Qian Li gestured for everyone to enter. Then, he strode forward and took the lead to enter the mountain gate.
Xuan Tianming pinched Feng Yu Heng's small hand and said, "Let's go, we'll also go in. I'll let you see this legendary Xu Tian Cave."
She was extremely curious as she pushed the wheelchair forward and followed Qian Li into the mountain gate.
The cool wind blew directly at her, causing her to shiver on the ground. She suddenly remembered the natural karst caves in the southern region of her previous life. They were also built by hollowing out the mountain. She had also visited them once with a tour group. It was summer inside, and the interior was as cold as winter. However, it was as beautiful as a fairyland.
Looking at this place, the towering Xu Tian Mountain was hollowed out. It was as tall as a twenty-first century seven-story building. Then, all kinds of strange buildings were built in this hollow mountain. She noticed that there were spiraling stairs around the mountain walls. There were patrolling soldiers walking back and forth on top of the stairs. There were also watchtowers. Every five steps was very tall. The soldiers standing on top of the watchtowers should be able to clearly see the whole picture of Xu Tian Cave.
This was only the part that could be seen at a glance. There were many passageways all around, but she didn't know where they led.
Someone came forward to greet them. After saluting, he said, "Sixteen blacksmiths and their apprentices are already waiting at the smelting furnace. General, do you want to meet them there or call them over?"
Xuan Tianming said, "Let's go to the smelting furnace."
That person nodded and took the initiative to lead the way.
Before Feng Yu Heng could recover from her shock, Xuan Tianming had already begun to tell her about the origin of Xu Tian Cave. "This place was built by the founding emperor of Dashun. He poured in thirty percent of Dashun's labor to excavate and build this mountain to this extent. After that, generations of monarchs devoted themselves to the construction of Xu Tian Cave. They put more effort into it than building their own mausoleums. It wasn't until my great-grandfather's generation that Xu Tian Cave was truly completed and could be put to use. "
Feng Yu Heng could imagine the tenacity and perseverance of the ancient people when they poured their efforts into a great building from generation to generation. However, she couldn't understand why they hollowed out such a mountain.
Xuan Tianming knew that she understood and took the initiative to say, "Actually, when Dashun was first established, this place was built to avoid disasters. At that time, Dashun's territory wasn't as vast as it is now. After a long period of war, there were many things that needed to be done. In addition, the surrounding four countries were eyeing them covetously. If they weren't careful, the country would be destroyed. Therefore, the monarch had no choice but to choose a place in the outskirts of the capital that was easy to defend and difficult to attack. It was at that time that the idea of digging Xu Tian Cave was raised. The previous monarchs of Dashun didn't live long. After three generations, the country's crisis wasn't completely resolved. Therefore, Xu Tian Cave was still being dug. It wasn't until the fourth monarch succeeded the throne that the country was stable. However, building this place became a habit and also a belief. "
Feng Yu Heng understood. "Xu Tian Cave has already become a symbol. As long as this place is well, the monarch can be at ease. It also symbolizes Dashun's great state. Now, Dashun is already the most powerful country in the Central Plains. There are large numbers of soldiers guarding its borders. Even if there is a war, it will inevitably be with real swords and spears on the battlefield. The monarch naturally won't think about hiding in Xu Tian Cave. Therefore, this place is convenient for you, right? "
Xuan Tianming corrected her. "It's convenient for us. I chose this place to make steel. I'm afraid that in the future, this place will become the place where you spend the most time every day. "
Feng Yu Heng smiled. "That's right. I like it here."
As they spoke, everyone had already arrived at the so-called smelting place. That place was an independent space. There was a small path that connected to the main cave outside. The small path led to this small cave.
Although it was called a small cave, it was only compared to the large cave outside. In reality, this cave wasn't small at all. According to Feng Yu Heng's calculations, this cave was at least 200 square meters. Countless holes were dug around the mountain. There were already people setting up furnaces to make iron.
Qian Li clapped his hands at the people inside the smelting place and loudly said: "Everyone come and greet our General and County Princess Ji An!"
Everyone knew that the General of the Northwest Army was the emperor's favorite, the Ninth Prince. Everyone also knew that County Princess Ji An was the Ninth Prince's future wife. She was also said to be a Godly Doctor even better than her grandfather, Yao Xian. Everyone also knew that the only person in Dashun who could make steel was this County Princess Ji An.
So when they heard that they had arrived, the 16 blacksmiths and their apprentices all rushed forward and kowtowed while chanting: "Your Highness, long live the County Princess!"
This was the first time Feng Yu Heng heard someone chanting "long live the County Princess", so she was a bit uncomfortable. Xuan Tianming was naturally used to this scene. Raising his hand, he said: "Everyone get up!"
The people trembled as they stood up. Feng Yu Heng looked at the blacksmiths. Most of them were old. The youngest one looked to be 45 years old. But the apprentices they brought were very young. Most of them were only in their teens.
Looking around again, there were a lot of tools on the side of the smelting place. There was a big bellows, charcoal, and iron. After all, they were blacksmiths. Everything they prepared was according to the forging process. But the tools were very complete and very professional.
Bai Zhi took the initiative to ask the blacksmiths: "Do you know why I brought you here?"
The blacksmiths nodded and replied: "I know, we are here to make something called steel."
One of the bolder blacksmiths asked: "I heard that this thing called steel is very hard. It can break iron like mud. Is that true?"
When he asked, everyone opened their eyes in anticipation, waiting for Feng Yu Heng's answer.
But she deliberately did not answer immediately. Instead, she took the opportunity to observe the look in their eyes. After looking at all sixteen blacksmiths, she could not help but nod her head in satisfaction. They were indeed the best blacksmiths. Although she did not see their craftsmanship, this kind of pure fanaticism in front of new and good things could not be faked. Only people who were absolutely passionate about their profession would show such an attitude when they heard that they could improve their realm. These blacksmiths were all such people.
Bai Zhi was slightly relieved. The worst thing about making steel was that there was only craftsmanship and no fanaticism. In this era, no one had come into contact with real steel. The first time they made it, it was very likely that ten, twenty, or even a hundred batches of steel would fail. Or perhaps, without a firm belief and persistence, they would not be able to endure this kind of torture. This was the kind of person she wanted. Even if their craftsmanship was not good, she could teach them bit by bit. As long as their passion was there, anything was possible.
Bai Zhi told everyone: "It is too exaggerated to say that it can break iron like mud. But there is indeed a big difference between the toughness of steel and iron. Steel is a kind of metal that is harder than iron. In theory, steel is an alloy, while iron is a separate material. The main difference between the two is the amount of carbon. To put it bluntly, steel is an alloy that contains more than a fixed amount of carbon and is based on iron. Perhaps everyone does not understand what I mean. "As she spoke, she handed her steel knife to Bai Ze," Bai Ze, go and try it for everyone. Let everyone understand the difference between steel and iron. "
Bai Ze happily took the knife and was about to go forward to try it when he heard an old man suddenly shout from the blacksmiths: "Wait a minute!"
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