"Send these pictures to the craftsman's workshop and ask the craftsmen there to make the utensils as shown in the pictures."
Zhao Shu handed several pictures to Zheng Siyuan. The other party took a look and found that they were several large mallets with strange shapes and various mortise and tenon gear teeth that matched them.
"What is this?" Zheng Siyuan asked.
"A wooden hammer used to pound the cotton batting of talismans." Zhao Shu stretched his waist and said, "Didn't you take me outside the city the day before yesterday to see a waterwheel pounding rice? That thing can indeed replace manpower, but it needs to be slightly modified.
I have already informed Marquis Anyang of my idea, and he will arrange it for us at the Waterwheel Workshop."
"I got it." Zheng Siyuan rolled up the drawings and held up a bamboo tube at the same time: "This is the latest batch of talisman arrows. Please have the deacon take a look."
Zhao Shu took the several-foot-long bamboo tube and opened the cover. Inside were bundles of wooden talisman arrows. The arrow clusters were slightly copper-colored. After looking at them for a moment, Zhao Shu nodded and said:
"Yes, as expected, we still need to use the copper-water ladle casting method. This way, we don't have to sacrifice individual arrow branches."
Even though Jin Dingsi had been able to make talisman arrows earlier, when the new army was training their troops and practicing martial arts, they found that talisman arrows were not as useful as talisman soldiers. One shot would often exhaust the effectiveness of the spell, and the sacrifice of each talisman arrow was
The level of training is uneven, and it is difficult for the soldiers to adapt.
Under normal circumstances, how could ordinary soldiers dare to be dissatisfied with the magic spells refined by the monks in Guanxia? But Zhao Shu was not tired of the tedious work and personally communicated with the soldiers of the New Army. After learning the specific situation, he immediately contacted Zheng Siyuan, Shi Huoguang and others.
People re-improved the craft of making talisman arrows.
After several trials and experiments, it was no longer the previous method of individually sacrificing arrow branches, but similar to the method of curing water to make elixirs. Casting a spell on the hot copper water, chanting sutras, and casting the copper water infused with the spell on the arrow clusters.
, and then placed in a separate altar to condense and consolidate the charm.
The good thing about this method is that it can sacrifice a large number of talisman arrows in batches, and the effectiveness is consistent. However, this kind of talisman arrows may not be able to hit the target without fail. At best, it has the sharpness of gold and fire to pierce armor, so it can be used properly on the battlefield.
, Wearing armor and holding a shield cannot block the power of talisman arrows.
As for the crossbow iron arrows used to attack the city, or the talisman arrows that can be tracked by the enemy, Zhao Shu or Zheng Siyuan must be sacrificed alone, which are rare even among the new army.
After sending the batch of talisman arrows to the school grounds, Zhao Shui also met General Wei. The two chatted, talking about the talisman soldiers and talisman arrows and the recent border war.
"Could it be that the Jiuli Kingdom has invaded again?" Zhao Shu asked.
General Wei said solemnly: "They are those pig-beak people living in the mountains, but they are not under the banner of Jiuli Kingdom."
"The pig-beak people? Those pig-headed barbarians?" Zhao Shu was puzzled: "Didn't they join the Jiuli Kingdom a long time ago?"
Among the high mountains of Jiuli Kingdom, there are also various alien barbarians, who are not human but look like humans, and are not beasts but like beasts. The pig-beaked people are one of them. Their facial features, mouth and nose are like pigs, so they are commonly known as pig-headed barbarians.
General Wei waved his hands and said: "The Southern Barbarians from the Jiuli Kingdom claim that the Bodhisattva people have not been canonized by their seals, and that they belong to a foreign barbarian tribe and are not under the control of the Jiuli Kingdom. They also say that the farmers from the Huaxu Kingdom have invaded the Bodhisattvas by reclaiming mountains and swamps.
The territory of the beak people.
To put it bluntly, they want to get rid of the bad reputation of breaking the Shouyang Annihilation Covenant and let the pig-headed barbarians fight and fight on their behalf. However, the war is not intense yet. Although the pig-headed barbarians are powerful, their numbers are not large, and they are at best butchers.
Several villages.”
Zhao Shu was in a trance when he heard this. He was assassinated in Jibao Pavilion half a year ago. During this time, he was focusing on making ritual objects and spells in Jinding Division. Unknowingly, winter turned to spring. He was in Dongsheng Capital.
Enjoy peace and be unaware of the war in the distance.
"Then what does the imperial court plan to do?" Zhao Shu asked: "Does the king want to send new troops to conquer?"
"This is not what I have the final say." General Wei shook his head and paced: "By the way, I heard that the Yingzhou Conference will be held soon. Does Zhenming Hou want to show off his skills?"
"General Wei is laughing at me again." Zhao Mian said: "The Yingzhou Conference is a grand gathering for the king to select talents to serve the country. Zhao is now the deacon of Jinding Division, so why should he compete with others for the limelight?
What? Don’t you think you’re annoying enough?”
"Marquis Zhenming need not worry about some gossip in the market," General Wei said.
Since the fall of the Zheng family in Jiujiang and Zhao Shui being granted the title of Marquis of Zhenming, all kinds of news about him have been spread in both the court and the public in Dongshengdu. It is difficult for outsiders to tell whether the truth is true or false.
The most critical point among them is that Zhao Shui proposed to the king to conduct an inventory of the land and population, which was somehow leaked to everyone in the government and the public. Some local officials, trying to figure out their intentions, took the initiative to start an inventory of large households under their jurisdiction, or simply
Taking the opportunity to blackmail.
As expected, some places were in turmoil because of this, and it even happened that wealthy people with their servants surrounded the county government office, threw bricks and set fire to it.
For this reason, the ministers of the DPRK and the DPRK started to argue again. One side believed that the government should issue an explicit edict and no longer check the land and people, so as to stabilize the people; the other side thought that they could take advantage of this opportunity to hide the people who had been suffering from long-standing abuses in the country.
The momentum of land annexation has reversed.
The person who instigated this incident, Zhao Shu, was inevitably jealous because he was granted the title of Marquis Zhenming. He was considered to be the ruler of the country who was using it to test the hearts of the people in the government and the public to see if he could use this to launch an inventory of land and people across the country.
"The sun and moon are unknown, but millet produces light. The grain is not abundant, but millet is full of barns. All the people are uneasy, but millet is happy..."
Zhao Shu, who was in the carriage, heard the nursery rhymes on the street and smiled helplessly. He couldn't care less about the children in the market who spread the rhymes after taking a piece of cake.
Returning to the Zhenminghou Mansion in the north of the city, after the Zheng family in Jiujiang left, this deep courtyard belonged to Zhao Shu.
But now the house of the Marquis is a little deserted, Zhao Shu has no family, and all the slaves and servants of the Zheng family have been dismissed. The Marquis of Anyang couldn't stand it anymore, so he sent dozens of slaves to Zhao Shu to take care of him and clean the house.
"Master Marquis, the person from the arrest department is currently in the living room."
As soon as Zhao Shu entered the house, the housekeeper came to report.
"Arrest Division?" Zhao Shu muttered to himself, and came to the living room to see two people. One was Lu Xiaowei from the Reward and Punishment Institute, and the other was Yan Sicheng, the arrest division.
"I have kept you two adults waiting for a long time." Zhao Shu stepped forward and cupped his hands, apologizing repeatedly.
Yan Sicheng and Lieutenant Lu stood up to return the greeting. Zhao Shu asked the housekeeper and servant to leave and asked: "The two adults came to visit in person, what is the important matter? Is it possible that there are still doubts about the Jibao Pavilion case that have not been investigated?"
"That's not true. The reason why I came here this time is because I got a tip that someone might be trying to harm Marquis Zhenming recently," Yan Sicheng said.
"It's not good for me?" Zhao Shu was stunned: "Are there assassins from Jiuli Kingdom coming to kill me again?"
Yan Sicheng replied: "Recently, we have carried out strict searches inside and outside Dongsheng Capital and captured the spies and spies of Jiuli Kingdom one by one. Marquis Zhenming can rest assured for the time being."
Zhao Mo's eyes were deep: "Yan Sicheng might as well speak frankly."
"Perhaps the people who are really going to harm Marquis Zhenming are the people in the country." Yan Sicheng said: "I think Marquis Zhenming has heard about the current situation between the government and the opposition. We captured several criminal thieves a few days ago and learned that
Recently, on the green forest road of Huaxu Kingdom, someone actually offered a reward to Marquis Zhenming."
"Green forest thieves, are you offering a reward for me?" Zhao Shu raised his hand and pointed at himself.
He felt that it was a bit confusing. In the past, it was clear that in order to catch bandits, the imperial government would attach a reward when issuing arrest documents. How come this year, it is his turn to be rewarded by the green forest bandits?
Yan Sicheng laughed twice: "Marquis Zhenming doesn't know. These Jiangyang thieves and green forest giants are also a serious problem for our Huaxu Kingdom. Not to mention the chaos of the Five Kingdoms War, since the Shouyang army was eliminated, many people have surrendered.
The Huaxu National Refugee Army was disbanded, but many things were not done well at that time, causing some armies to rebel and rebel. Some armies were apparently disbanded, but in fact they became bandits and bandits, roaming the mountains and forests, and even had conflicts with local wealthy families.
dense."
Zhao Shu was almost used to hearing about these things and asked: "In other words, my proposal to the king to transfer the land has touched the interests of those local wealthy families. These people are planning to gather a group of powerful thieves to deal with me?"
"That's right." Yan Sicheng replied.
Zhao Shu sneered and said, "I've been underestimated. How dare any gangster to come and cause trouble for me?"
"This is what we want to tell Marquis Zhenming." Lieutenant Lu said: "These criminal thieves are not all ordinary people. There are also monsters and evil cultivators in the dangerous mountains and rivers they occupy."
Zhao Shu asked: "Oh? Isn't this the responsibility of the arrest department?"
"Ashamedly, what the arrest department can really control is the area inside and outside Dongsheng City." Yan Sicheng sighed: "And the places where thieves and bandits hide out are mostly dangerous mountains and rivers, making it difficult for a large army to attack. If there are only a few monks
If you enter, if you are trapped in an ambush, it will be difficult to escape."
Zhao Shu did not criticize him harshly. Although the arresting department had the responsibility of arresting evil spirits, the handling of the case was inevitably hampered by constraints from all sides, and there were not so many monks who could be sent out to fight against evil spirits.
In fact, being able to mobilize the monks from various schools to participate in the battle like Xingluo County's bandit suppression was the largest war fought by the Huaxu Kingdom's monks since the Shoyang War of the Five Kingdoms.
There were many connections behind Xingluo County's suppression of bandits, and Zhao Shui estimated that the king's intention was to judge various restaurants.
But no matter how you say it, there are always very few monks in the world. It is impossible that all the officials and ministers who hold government office duties are monks.
This is also the reason why Zhao Shu is worried about the Taoist country in the world. How complicated and difficult is the military, political and civil affairs of a country? With the number of monks in Huaxu Kingdom today, even if they are all sent to hold important positions, they will not be able to fill the ranks of officials in Huaxu Kingdom. Let alone Xiu
Whether it is high or low has nothing to do with whether it can manage military affairs and civil affairs.
Zhao Shu himself had personal experience. Even though he had condensed the Xuanzhu, he was considered the number one figure in Huaxu country, but he still knew very little about the specific military and political practices, and was far inferior to an experienced official like Wang Juncheng.
If someone like Zhao Shu is really allowed to manage the military and people's livelihood, I'm afraid it will cause disaster to one party immediately.
Not to mention that if a monk who truly aspires to the immortal path has to deal with all kinds of secular affairs all day long, not to mention hindering his pure cultivation, he will work hard physically and mentally over time and damage his cultivation.
In fact, there are only a few monks in Huaxu Kingdom who are really worthy of big responsibilities. Even Liang Tao, who is also the master of the country, relies on fractal transformation to meet people and deal with matters when he walks in the court. And how many monks in the world can do that?
How to compare with Liang Tao? This Liang Guoshi himself is a rare anomaly.
Even if Liang Tao can really create a Taoist kingdom in the human world, how many monks will be responsible for the actual affairs in the future? If the Taoist officials in various local governments are just mortal officials who have changed their names, then I am afraid that the situation will not be much different from the current situation.
Even if Zhao Shu could really lay out the rituals and rituals covering the entire Huaxu Kingdom, the result would be nothing more than Liang Tao attaining immortality and commanding the ghosts and gods of the country. The monks in the world would not improve their cultivation level, increase their magic power, and even more.
A bunch of monks will not appear out of thin air to help govern the country.
"Marquis Zhenming?" Yan Sicheng called softly several times to wake up Zhao Miao who was deep in thought.
"I'm sorry." Zhao Shu gently rubbed his eyebrows: "Jinding Company is busy with business, and I am a little confused. Where did the two adults talk about just now?"
Yan Sicheng said: "It is about the safety of Marquis Zhenming. Although our arrest department can ensure that the area inside and outside Dongsheng City is free from evil spirits, but if we go to the mountains and wilderness, the arrest department may be powerless."
"I understand, just try not to stay away from Dongsheng Capital, right?" Zhao Shu asked.
Yan Sicheng cupped his hands and said: "Actually, with the cultivation skills of Marquis Zhenming, no evil spirit dares to offend you. However, you now shoulder the responsibility of Jin Dingsi. If something goes wrong, it will be a big loss for the imperial court. I
Don’t dare to ignore it.”
"Thanks to the two adults for telling me, Zhao will bear it in mind." Zhao Shu nodded.
In fact, Zhao Shu was not surprised by what the arresting department said. There are probably many local wealthy families who would rather eat flesh and sleep with Zhao Shu. If he hadn't had the skills to cultivate himself and was a new noble in the court, he would have been there long ago.
The secretly entangled killer assassin came to Dongshengdu to stage a show of crushing skulls with a sledgehammer in broad daylight.
"By the way, Zhao has something to ask me." Zhao Shu asked: "What happened to the two demon assassins from Jiuli Kingdom earlier?"
Yan Sicheng smiled and said: "Those two people have been deprived of their cultivation and their hands and feet have been cut off, but their lives are temporarily preserved. When the leader of the country orders the conquest of Jiuli Kingdom, they will be beheaded to sacrifice the flag to strengthen the morale of the army.
.”
Zhao Shu nodded silently: "I heard before that Qing Luoyi is a half-demon, so what is the origin of the other wolf-headed monster? Is he also a half-demon?"
Lieutenant Lu said: "We checked and found that his appearance was caused by a demon."
"Monster transformation?" Zhao Shu thought, and suddenly thought of the young master of the Dai family in Chengyang County, and the monster driving the walking corpse in Xingluo County.
"That's right." Lu Xiaowei said: "According to what the demon said, he took a pill called 'Danglu Zhuanggu Pill', and then the demon body turned into this look. And similar demon transformations
There is more than one person in the ghost market."
"Is it possible that the Jiuli Kingdom has mastered the method of using elixirs to induce demon transformation?" Zhao Shu was very surprised. Even if the Yaochi Kingdom mastered the method of demon transformation, it would be impossible for their soldiers to obtain the magical power of the magical bird by just taking food.
Pills can do it.
"The mix of demons and evil spirits in Jiuli Kingdom is much greater than that in Huaxu Kingdom. It's not surprising that strange things happen there." Yan Sicheng said: "However, these southern barbarians are destined to become neither human nor demons after taking the demon transformation elixir.
His appearance cannot be seen in the light at all. As long as he appears in front of others, he will be exposed immediately, so Zhenminghou need not worry too much."