The sound of water flowing in the distance, and the hammering of big hammers nearby.
Zhao Shu looked at the renovated waterwheel workshop, with the workers from the Jinding Division and the Craftsman's Workshop on the left and right. Zhao Shu personally put the armor stuffed with cotton wool under the big hammer, looking at it like a villain kowtowing, for a moment
Keep pounding and tapping to gradually compact the fluffy cotton batting.
"Not bad, not bad. In this way, we can save a lot of manpower." Zhao Shu looked around with his arms akimbo. There were four more similar mallets in the workshop, which were hammering continuously with the rotation of the waterwheel.
The clerk in the craftsman's workshop next to him couldn't help but flatter him: "Marquis Zhenming is so ingenious that he knows his way through the gods. If it were us, we wouldn't be able to come up with such an exquisite instrument even after exhausting our efforts."
"Your craftsmanship workshop is not bad either. You made the thing in just two days." Zhao Shu smiled and said, "No matter how exquisite the graphics are, they have to be applied to real objects before they can be useful. It's all thanks to you this time."
The clerk bowed and nodded repeatedly. Their craftsmanship workshop was a group of lowly craftsmen. They were naturally happy to be praised by the new rich of the day.
"What do you think?" Zhao Shu asked Shi Huoguang next to him.
"This waterwheel is indeed good, but tamping cotton wool is only the simplest step in making talisman armor." Shi Huoguang said: "Before that, the collected hemp must be processed, especially the elixir of soaking the hemp skin.
, I heard it will acid etch the flesh?"
Zhao Shu said helplessly: "After all, Xujinma is a treasure of heaven and earth. I asked my Taoist friends from Yuyi Pavilion to use magic to refine it, but it only took a few days to get such a mass."
After saying that, Zhao Shu took out a ball of extremely tough and slender gold thread. He used it to bind Qingluo Yi's hands, feet and limbs. If he used the Qi machine on the silk thread, even a stone ball could be cut into two pieces, and it would be even sharper.
.
Although this method can refine the continued tendons and hemp to be very strong, but if you hope to use this method to make talisman armor, it will be good if you can get one in half a year.
"If you want to soak and peel off the remaining hemp, you can only use extra prepared Dan Shui." Zhao Shu said: "For this purpose, a pond must be dug specially, and the bottom and inner wall of the pond must be sealed with Liuyi mud to prevent
The water seeped down and damaged the surrounding land."
"No wonder you asked for several jars of red stone fat and stone spleen soup before. It turned out to be used to prepare Guji sacred mud." Shi Huoguang said.
"I remember that the Retting Pond is not far to the east. I will take you to have a look." Zhao Shu waved his hand and led a group of Jinding Division monks to leave the waterwheel workshop.
Everyone was chatting and laughing, but before walking too far along the official road, they saw hundreds of people approaching in front of them. They all looked like poor people, and most of them were doing heavy work, and some of them were carrying sticks in their hands.
He Dangguan led several Si Zhongyi guards and was about to move forward to drive him away. When the leader saw Zhao Mi, he immediately knelt down, and a large number of people behind him knelt down with cheers.
"Immortal above, please save the little people!" the strong woman howled, and the people behind her also shouted for help.
Zhao Shu was stunned on the spot, looking around. The other Jinding Division monks didn't know what was going on. He Dangguan, on the other hand, approached and whispered: "Deacon, maybe they are people who came to Dongshengdu to redress their grievances. The situation is unclear, so you'd better not agree immediately."
"This place is not far from the city gate. You send someone to call the garrison in the capital." Zhao Shu said.
"Yes." He Dangguan immediately went to arrange manpower.
Looking at the ordinary people kneeling on the ground in front of him, Zhao Shu didn't know what to say. He saw that their clothes were shabby, many had swollen and cracked fingers, scarred faces, yellow and withered faces, and thin cheeks.
"You guys get up first. Our Jinding Division only writes talismans and makes elixirs for the imperial court. If you have any grievances, I'm afraid you have found the wrong person." Zhao Shu stepped forward and said.
"No! We found nothing wrong!" The strong woman in the lead raised her head and said.
Before Zhao Shu could reply, dozens of people rushed towards him from a distance. Among them was a man wearing a blue robe and a green scarf, followed closely by a man carrying a stick.
"Okay! You slaves, I just walked away for a while, and you dared to rebel?!" The man in green scarf kicked the leader of the strong woman down and shouted: "Hit me!"
As soon as the shouts were heard, the gang of villagers picked up sticks and beat the kneeling people repeatedly. In a blink of an eye, blood spattered everywhere and they screamed in pain. Several people tried to resist, but were quickly suppressed.
This place is an official road in the countryside. Most of the people on the road are merchants and travelers heading to Dongshengdu. Seeing this scene, many people stopped to watch.
"Chief Immortal, help me! Immortal Chief, please save me!"
Zhao Shu originally remembered the warning from Marquis Anyang, telling him to be cautious when walking in the capital, and did not want to get involved in these things.
However, countless cries of pain and wailing filled his ears, and the miserable sight of abuse before his eyes made Zhao Shui unbearable.
"stop!"
Zhao Shu raised his feet and stamped his feet, his true energy bursting forth. Suddenly the ground trembled slightly, and his shout was like thunder in the air. Everyone was shocked, and the villagers holding sticks stopped moving.
The man with the green scarf turned around and was about to speak when he glanced at the black and yellow ribbon on Zhao Mi's waist. His face was slightly startled at first, then he pretended to be calm and bowed his hands:
"Chief Immortal, I am teaching the slaves of the farm a lesson. If they have violated or offended me before, I would like to apologize. Now I will drive them back to the farm and punish them severely."
"Don't worry yet." Zhao Shu stopped the man in green scarf who was about to turn around: "I think they have a grievance to redress. We might as well wait for the officials to come and explain the whole matter."
"Immortal, I'm afraid this move will annoy my master." The man in blue scarf had a humble attitude, but there was a hint of arrogance hidden behind his words.
"Your master?" Zhao Shu suddenly wanted to test his own weight as a newly rich man in the court, and sneered: "I would like to know, what is the weight of your master? Why don't you tell me and let me hear it?"
"Immortal, don't regret it." The man in green scarf put his hands on his hips and raised his hands with arrogance: "My master is the famous Marquis Zhenming in the court! He is the most popular person in front of the king! This is his family's village.
Guest slave, does the immortal still need to take care of it?"
As soon as these words came out, the whole place in the official road was silent. Even the people who were beaten and screaming in pain did not dare to call out. Only the onlookers on both sides of the official road whispered:
"Marquis Zhenming? Is he the Marquis Zhenming who overthrew the Zheng family in Jiujiang?"
"When did it become that he was the one who brought down the Jiujiang Zheng family?"
"Hey! Your information is too ill-informed. There are rumors now that it was this Zhenminghou who set up a trap to trick the Zheng family in Jiujiang so that the king could have an excuse to convict the Zheng family. Now Zhenminghou is in the limelight in Dongsheng City.
Jin, it is said that the men of the Zheng family even gave their wives and concubines to Marquis Zhenming in order to survive!"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, this immortal has offended Marquis Zhenming, but there is a good show!"
The words of the passers-by reached Zhao Shui's ears, and his face became more and more gloomy. The monks from the Jinding Division on the left and right did not dare to speak. Shi Huoguang saw the change in Zhao Shui's expression and wanted to take the initiative to defend him, but his words were clumsy and he stood there.
In front of everyone, his teeth were chattering again.
It was He Dangguan who reacted first, stepped forward and slapped the green scarf man on the face, causing him to spin around three times.
"You, you—" The man in blue scarf had swollen cheeks and bleeding from the corners of his mouth. He didn't know how many teeth were broken by He Dangguan's palm.
The man in blue scarf was about to have another attack, and the villagers came forward with sticks. He Dangguan raised his finger and pointed at Zhao Shu, shouting: "You are blind! He is Zhenminghou!"
As soon as these words came out, the color on the green scarf man's face disappeared instantly, and he knelt down on the ground. The other villagers looked at each other, and He Dangguan shouted again:
"A bunch of blind slaves, why don't you kneel down?!"
The villagers did not dare to hesitate and quickly threw down their sticks and knelt on the ground.
"Okay, that's great." Zhao Shu laughed angrily: "I don't even know when I got such a group of dealers under my name, and a capable general like you."
The man in green scarf kowtowed repeatedly and said vaguely: "Master Hou, please spare my life, Master Hou, please spare my life. I didn't know the true appearance of Mr. Hou, so I bumped into him!"
Zhao Shu suppressed his anger and ignored the man in green scarf. He walked up to the strong woman. She took the brunt of several blows and her forehead was broken and bleeding. Although she did not faint, she was still in a daze.
Zhao Shu used his true energy to tap several key points on the opponent, and at the same time took out the Fengchuang Jade Ointment to smear the wounds. Seeing this, Shi Huoguang stepped forward and said, "I'm here to help."
"Yeah." Zhao Shu handed the thing to the other party, and the strong woman just woke up and knelt down quickly:
"Help me, Immortal!"
"Who are you?" Zhao Shu asked, "Why did that person say you are the villagers of Marquis Zhenming?"
"I, we are the dealers of Marquis Zhenming." The strong woman was a little confused.
Zhao Shu frowned and said, "I am Marquis Zhenming."
When the healthy woman heard this, her eyes widened in disbelief, and then she quickly kowtowed. Zhao Shu resisted his impatience and helped her up: "I ask you, don't do all this kowtow."
"Yes, yes." The fitness woman trembled.
Zhao Mo looked around and saw people blocking the official road. He first asked He Dangguan to lead the group of villagers to the roadside, and then simply sat on the ground and asked, "Are you tenants of the nearby farm?"
"Yes, the farm is only six or seven miles away." The strong woman said on her knees.
"In my impression, I don't own this farm property." Zhao Shu said expressionlessly: "Are you mistaken?"
The healthy woman hesitated for a while, then Zhao Shu said: "If you have something to say, just say it."
"Our village originally did not belong to you, Lord Marquis." The strong woman tugged at the hem of her clothes nervously: "But a few days ago, for some reason, the head of the village said that the owner of the farmhouse and manor had changed. However, everyone's life continued as usual, and they didn't think anything was wrong.
thing."
Zhao Shu covered his mouth and thought for a moment, then asked: "Then why did you leave the farm? And you shouted for help when you saw me?"
"I, I..." The strong woman mustered up her courage: "We couldn't make a living anymore. When we saw Lord Marquis coming from the waterwheel, we thought he was an immortal working for Jindingsi."
"What kind of work?" Zhao Shu asked.
"Master Hou, don't you know?" the strong woman said, "It's just pounding sacks."
"Pounding sacks?" Zhao Shu suddenly woke up: "Pounding talisman armor cotton wool? You actually did this?"
The strong woman obviously didn't understand what the talisman was, so she fiddled with the shape with her hands: "Sack...it's that kind of coat, it looks similar."
Zhao Shu was speechless, and then looked at the man in green scarf: "Come here!"
The man in the blue scarf was sweating through his clothes. He crawled over on his knees, not daring to raise his head at all. He heard Zhao Shu ask: "Is your farm doing all the work of Jinding Division pounding the cotton wool on the talisman armor?"
"Yes." The man in green scarf beat his head on the ground.
Zhao Shu raised his forehead and sighed secretly. He had obviously heard from Marquis Anyang before that the tamping of the talisman armor was left to the craftsmen. He had no doubts about it, and since the steps were simple, he didn't ask any questions.
"Then why did you ask for help?" Zhao Shu asked the healthy woman.
"We were originally pounding rice for Zhuangzi, and later we pounded coats for Lord Marquis, and we could also earn a living." The strong woman lowered her head and murmured: "But we heard that the immortal chief of Jinding Division planned to use a water truck to replace us. We are gone.
My livelihood depends on men working in the fields, and I can’t afford Zhuangzi’s rent.”
"This..." Zhao Mi was confused for a while. He obviously used the waterwheel workshop to pound the talisman cotton batting in order to save manpower. However, now a group of manor tenants came to tell him that it was the waterwheel workshop that robbed the talisman.
their livelihood.
The more Zhao Shu thought about it, the more worried he became. He obviously had good intentions and planned to save manpower, but how could he end up like this in practice?
And in the end, the person who hammered the talisman was actually a tenant of the farm under his own name. Is this a joke?
At this time, a garrison from the capital came from a distance and saw a group of farm tenants gathered beside the official road. They were about to drive them away. Zhao Miao had to get up to identify himself, and he had to grit his teeth and admit that these people belonged to his farm.
Tenant, he can handle it himself.
When the group of guards learned that it was Marquis Zhenming, they didn't investigate further and went back after saying a few words.
Zhao Mo looked at the group of farmers and tenants. Most of them looked numb. Occasionally, a few people looked at them, but most of them were terrified.
"It took me a long time, but it turned out to be acting!"
At this time, strange words floated from the other side of the official road. Zhao Shu turned his head and saw a man in linen clothes. His beard and hair were slovenly and messy, and his face could not be seen clearly. He was wearing worn-out mango shoes and he was sitting carelessly on the side of the road.
Cheng Shi on.
The man in linen clothes noticed Zhao Mi's gaze. Instead of restraining himself, he patted his thigh and said to the passers-by: "Look! He said he can become a marquis. Let the head of the village be the villain, and he will look fair and call his subordinates.
Buqu gave Zhuangtou a slap in the face and immediately subdued the slaves who wanted to cause trouble."
He Dangguan heard clearly, raised his hand to touch the hilt of the sword, and was about to teach this nonsense passerby. Zhao Shu shouted to stop him: "Okay, don't make trouble."
As soon as Zhao Mi calmed down, the man in sackcloth continued: "Oh, you are worthy of being the Marquis of Zhenming, and he even knows how to tie up a dog!"
Recalling the reminder from the arrest department, Zhao Shu ignored the passerby of unknown origin and turned to the man in green scarf and said, "Take me to your farm. I want to see when my family got such a property.
"
The man with the green scarf seemed to be carrying a mountain on his shoulders, and he stood up with difficulty. Zhao Shu said to the strong woman: "You also go back together. No matter what, I will give you an answer."
"Thank you, Lord Marquis, thank you Lord Marquis!" The strong woman knelt down and kowtowed, and the tenants behind her also thanked her one after another.
Zhao Miao turned to Shi Huoguang and several Jinding Division monks and said: "You guys go back to the office first. Stop the matter of the talisman for a while and wait for me to figure it out before dealing with it. Also, go back to Anyang Hou and tell the truth about the situation here.
."
"You..." Shi Huoguang was a little worried.
"Don't worry, He Dangguan will take someone with me." Zhao Shu let out a long breath: "I just don't want to be taken advantage of by others. I can handle this matter myself, and you don't want to get involved."