At night, everyone in the Lu Mansion was already immersed in sleep. Only a few dead soldiers raised by the Xiang family were wandering in the yard. After a while, they should go back to their rooms to rest.

Xiang Zhuang's room is always the last one to turn off the lights. Tomorrow he will meet an extremely important person. That person is named Xuanzi. Rumor has it that Xuanzi is a descendant of Ou Yezi. The Long Yuan Sword, which has been famous for thousands of years, was cast by Ou Yezi.

Later, after Li Yuan founded the Tang Dynasty, because the word "Yuan" in Long Yuan sword conflicted with his own name, he changed Long Yuan sword to Longquan sword. This is a story later.

Xuanzi had also lived in seclusion in Longyuan Mountain for many years. Xiangzhuang was not completely sure about asking him to come out. With the idea of ​​giving it a try, Xiangzhuang had to prepare a big gift and go to Longyuan Mountain for a trip.

Xiang Zhuang was holding a book on war in his hand at this time. The words "Throw yourself to death and survive" echoed in Xiang Zhuang's mind. Although Xiang Zhuang also read the book for half an hour, in this half hour, he

He only remembered this sentence, and he didn't remember anything else.

Family affairs and private matters are all extremely important to him, but he can't let go of any of them. Today's strange old man made Xiang Zhuang even more confused, 'Xu Negative, who is he?'

Does Long Congyun refer to Liu Bang? Historically, he dominated the world and he replaced the dragon. It is not an exaggeration. Does Tiger Conforming to the Wind refer to Xiang Yu? In other words, the situation suddenly changes to Dragon and Tiger.

The battle indicates that they will have a battle between dragon and tiger, but what does this have to do with themselves?

Xiang Zhuang fell into deep thought again. Whether it was a dragon or a tiger, maybe one of them could refer to himself, Xiang Zhuang thought.

At this time, he forced himself not to think about Xu Fu anymore. After all, this was just a wild talk. It was not worth mentioning and should not be believed deeply. Xiang Zhuang's eyes fell on the military book again. The so-called "death is followed by life". This

It is the essence of the art of war, but in ancient wars, the mobility of horses was limited. If the mobility of horses can be increased, the braking force of the army can be increased, the initiative can be controlled more efficiently, and the horse can exert a higher combat effectiveness on the battlefield.

There are also weapons. This period is the age of cold weapons, and bronze weapons are widely used. If we can mass-produce iron weapons and create more high-quality weapons and armor, then this army will be an invincible army.

Thinking like this, Xiang Zhuang became more determined to visit Xuanzi. In addition, in the past few days, something very popular in later generations appeared in Xiang Zhuang's mind. With him, the efficient mobility of horses is no longer a dream, and,

He can also increase the daily distance traveled by horses. This thing is the horseshoe of later generations.

The compound bow is also extremely important. It can replace the existing ordinary bows and arrows, increasing the range and lethality. It is very necessary. Although it is impossible to have pulleys to increase the torque like in later generations, as long as the existing compound bows of this era can be modified

And upgrade, the power will be equally astonishing.

However, Xiang Zhuang found that his thoughts had been stretched too far. Horseshoes, compound bows and some unknown things were beyond his immediate consideration. Let's solve the problem of sword making first. The bellows is no longer the biggest problem, but a man with rich knowledge

With his sword-making experience, the person who can lead the craftsmen to create the most perfect, hardest, and most resilient sword is probably none other than Xuanzi.

Another problem that the shop has to face as it makes ironware is the source of iron ore. Kuaiji County has no iron ore itself. How to obtain more iron ore is urgent. Relying on acquisition alone cannot solve the problem. How to obtain it?

Iron ore and finding coal mines became another problem in Xiangzhuang's mind.

In this era when productivity is low and we can only rely on cold weapons to fight, the pursuit of high-quality products and higher lethality is the current problem. Although Xiang Zhuang knows that in this era, gunpowder already exists, but this thing, Xiang Zhuang

I'm afraid we can't get it now. We can only wait for the future, when the world is in chaos and the Qin State is completely unable to control the situation, then we can try to develop it. There are also kerosene. These things will become extremely dangerous weapons of mass destruction.

.

Xiang Zhuang's thoughts were still wandering. At this time, there was a slight knock on the door. Xiang Zhuang put away his thoughts and slightly calmed down his ups and downs and excitement. The series of assumptions just now gave Xiang Zhuang a desire for war.

The knocking on the door continued. Xiang Zhuang walked over and opened the door. Cao Feng's petite figure came into view. She looked a little shy and stared at Xiang Zhuang quietly. Soon, she slowly said: "Xiang Zhuang

Brother, I...I have thought about it, I want to learn piano, learn writing, learn martial arts, no matter what I learn, I want to be with you!"

Listening to Cao Feng's heartfelt confession, Xiang Zhuang felt that he was too selfish. He couldn't help but feel sad and hugged Cao Feng into his arms. Just like that, the two of them hugged each other tightly.

...

Longyuan Mountain is located to the east of Juzhang County, near today's Ningbo City. The mountains are lush with vegetation. A winding path leads directly into the mountain. At the cliff, a waterfall blocks the way into the mountain. Xiangzhuang and others can only

Enter the mountain from the pontoon bridge dozens of meters away.

Soon, a peach orchard came into view. In the depths of the peach orchard, several thatched houses could be faintly seen. A child was cleaning fallen leaves in the yard. Xiang Sheng led the horse and hurriedly greeted him: "Boy, can Xuanzi live there?"

this?"

The boy looked Xiang Sheng up and down, couldn't help but put his hands up and said with a smile: "I don't know why you are looking for a tutor?"

Everyone was overjoyed to hear the little boy calling Xuanzi his master. Xiang Sheng returned the greeting with a smile and said, "My young master wants to visit Xuanzi. Please come and see him."

The little boy saw that there were faint traces of death on everyone's body, and that they had traveled thousands of miles to visit the mountain. He understood something in his heart, so he returned the greeting and said: "My master has been living in seclusion for many years and has not been seen by the public. Please come down from the mountain early. Hundreds of beasts come here at night."

It’s very unsafe to go in and out.”

On the side, Xiang Zhuang and Cao Feng had led their horses. Xiang Zhuang said with a smile: "I traveled thousands of miles to patrol Xuanzi, how could I take refuge and return home because of wild beasts? I also asked the boy to help introduce me. There must be someone here.

Thank you very much.”

"People in the mountains and fields don't care about finances. How many of you..." Before the boy could finish his words, a middle-aged man's deep voice came from inside the thatched house: "I want to hide in the mountains and fields, but the secular world keeps blocking me. Military disasters happen year after year.

Continuously, magical weapons are hidden in the mountains. The tyranny of the Qin State leads to chaos in the world, and dragons and tigers appear in the world..."

A middle-aged man wearing a green robe came out. He held a fan in his left hand and twirled his beard with his right hand. He looked up and laughed when he saw everyone. At this time, a child came over and saluted: "Master."

When Xiang Zhuang saw the boy calling him master, he guessed that this person was Xuanzi. He immediately raised his hands and said with a smile: "Junior, please pay homage to Xuanzi."

Xuanzi raised his hand and said with a smile: "Xu Fu, this old man, has really accurate calculations. Seventeen years later, someone came to visit. I... can't bear to see the useless disputes in the world."

Speaking of this, Xuanzi smiled bitterly and shook his head. At this time, Xiangzhuang stepped forward, raised his hands and asked, "Xuanzi, do you know Xu Fu?"

When Xuanzi was asked by Xiang Zhuang, he couldn't help but be surprised and said: "Do you know him?"

Xiang Zhuang cupped his hands and uttered a sentence that Xu Fu once left behind: "The dragon follows the cloud, the tiger follows the wind, and the situation suddenly changes and the dragon and the tiger compete."

After Xuanzi heard this, he couldn't help but raised his head and laughed: "This Xu Fu is really an old fool."

After saying that, Xuanzi's sharp eyes fell on Xiang Zhuang and asked with a smile: "Do you want me to make a sword for you?"

Xiang Zhuang shook his head and said with a smile: "Forging swords is only one aspect. I have a bellows that can melt the iron and refine it to make swords. However, the technical deviation is too big. I would like to ask Xuanzi to give me some advice."

After saying that, Xiang Zhuang took off the gift from his horse and handed it over with both hands. He knew that when inviting Xuanzi, he couldn't be too straightforward, as this would arouse Xuanzi's vigilance, so he used some pointers to lure Xuanzi down the mountain, as long as he was willing.

After going down the mountain, Xiang Zhuang would find a way to keep Xuanzi. At this time, Xuanzi had already fallen into deep thought. After an unknown period of time, Xuanzi nodded slightly and said with a smile: "In that case, let's talk in detail in the house."

...

In the backyard of Lu's shop, in a secret house, two newly erected iron furnaces have been put into operation, and three simple bellows are "whisping" to compress air into the furnace. These are the bellows and bellows temporarily put into production.

The iron furnace is still immature. If everything runs smoothly, the Xiang family may invest heavily this year to build a formal and relatively large-scale iron furnace.

Xiang Liang, Xiang Bo, Cao Wujiu, Xiang Yu, Ji Bu, etc. were watching from the sidelines. Xiang Zhuang was naked from the waist up and wielding a sledgehammer to help Xuanzi hammer the discus.

"This discus is not usable yet. It must be quenched and beaten again. Only when the white foam on the outside disappears is the success half achieved." Xuanzi told Xiang Zhuang while tapping the corners with a small hammer. That's it.

The two of them worked for nearly half an hour before returning the discus to the iron furnace.

At this time, Xiang Liang and others came forward. Xiang Liang cupped his hands and said with a smile: "Thank you for your hard work, Xuanzi. We have prepared coarse tea in the side hall. Let's go have a sip and have a rest."

Xuanzi wiped the sweat from his face, then raised his hands and said with a smile, "I am willing to listen to Mr. Liang's arrangements."

Several people turned from the courtyard to the side hall, and several shop assistants brought tea and left. At this time, Xiang Liang asked with a smile: "What do Xuanzi think of these three bellows?"

Xuanzi couldn't help but smile and said: "It's really extraordinary. He is a good iron-smelting guy."

After a pause, Xuanzi continued: "Smelting and forging swords is a patient job. Every process cannot be taken lightly, otherwise, the power of the sword will be greatly reduced."

On the side, Xiang Zhuang interrupted and said with a smile: "If I want to mass-produce iron swords and use watering technology, Xuanzi thinks, do I still need to polish them so carefully?"

"It is said that steel can be made into steel a hundred times. If it is not tempered thousands of times, the sword will have too many impurities and lack of toughness, so it is not suitable for use."

, when Ou Yezi passed on the sword-making skills to generals, he once left a hand behind, I wonder if Xuanzi has ever heard of it?"

After hearing this, Xuanzi couldn't help but be stunned, and the hand that plucked his beard was a little jerky. Soon, he stared at Xiangzhuang, as if he was in disbelief, and seemed to be thinking about something, until Xiangzhuang laughed dryly, interrupting Xuanzi's meditation, and

Zicai sighed softly, waved his hands and said, "I'm afraid it's just some rumors, I haven't heard of them."

Xiang Zhuang just casually asked. He didn't know if there was any unique formula back then. However, judging from Xuanzi's expression just now, I'm afraid he must have some skills or secret formula that can increase the efficiency or quality of sword making.

, but now, Xiang Zhuang knows that he will definitely not get any clues from Xuanzi, so he can only laugh and say: "I just heard about it, Xuanzi, please don't think that I am rude."

"Easy to say, easy to say." Xuanzi cupped his hand and said: "There is nothing wrong with these three bellows. You can follow the steps I just took and let them gradually refine them. You will be able to forge a very high-quality sword."

Xiang Liang nodded slightly, looked at Xiang Zhuang, and then at Xiang Bo. Soon, he smiled and said: "We are opening a craft shop for the first time, and there are too many things we don't know. Since Xuanzi has nothing important to do, why don't you invite me?"

If we stay here a little longer, let us express our feelings as landlords and ask Xuanzi to give us some advice."

Looking at Xiang Liang's expectant eyes, Xuanzi shook his head helplessly and said with a wry smile: "In that case, I will stay here for a while. If you don't understand anything, you can ask me."
Chapter completed!